P.E.I. unable to buy more seats at MUN

The P.E.I. government cannot buy an extra two seats for medical students at Memorial University of Newfoundland this year as it had hoped.

The plan was to increase the number of seats this year from four to six, but Health PEI officials say the medical school says it can't accommodate the extra students right now. 

"Currently it's kept at four," Richard Wedge, executive director of medical affairs with Health PEI, told CBC News Tuesday.

"There was a plan originally to increase it to six, but they are undergoing some renovations at Memorial University and they have postponed those increases, and thus we've changed our plans."

Memorial officials say once the medical school expansion is complete it will have room for another 20 students.

The new facilities won't be ready until 2013. Health PEI says the extra two medical school seats will be purchased then.

Each seat costs the government about $50,000.