The number of Nova Scotians without a family doctor hit an all-time high with more than 100,000 people on the waiting list this month.
Since the list went public in 2018, more than 50,000 people have added their names to it.
An NDP caucus news release says it’s a grim milestone as tens of thousands of Nova Scotian families are left scrambling to access health care.
“Neither the Houston Conservatives nor the Liberals before them have been able to make a breakthrough in securing primary care provider insurance,” NDP Health and Wellness spokeswoman Susan LeBlanc said in a news release. “While there have been some gains in hiring, that can only do so much when we see dozens of doctors retire or leave the province every year. There should also be a retention plan.
According to an NDP release, the majority of people who added their names to the waiting list last month did so because their doctor retired, moved or closed their practice.
As of July 1, a total of 100,592 Nova Scotians were on the Family Practice Registry.
Nova Scotia Health Minister Michelle Thompson says her Progressive Conservative government is not surprised by the increase.
“We’ve seen that there are a number of doctors, for example, who are preparing for retirement, and we know that people have entered the list as a result of retirement because they anticipate retirement,” Thompson said.
“I take very seriously the concerns that people have about access to health care. While there is no overnight solution to addressing the Need a Family Practice registry, I want to assure all Nova Scotians that we are working hard to recruit health professionals and improve access to primary care.
According to data released by the province, an average of 2,700 people found a doctor or nurse practitioner each month last year, but more than 7,200 added their names to the waiting list last month alone.
“This is a problem that has been coming for a long time. It’s basically a big iceberg,” said Dr. Leisha Hawker, the newly appointed president of Doctors Nova Scotia.
While she, too, is concerned, Hawker notes that Doctors Nova Scotia is working closely with the government to recruit and retain more doctors, many of whom Hawker says simply don’t want the staggering workloads their predecessors carried.
But she says there’s another factor.
“We also have a lot of new Nova Scotians — a lot of people are immigrating to our wonderful province, so more and more people are being added to the list,” Hawker said.
Nova Scotia NDP Caucus Leader Claudia Chander says she’s hearing from people who are just trying to renew routine prescriptions and can’t.
“We know efforts are being made, but we don’t have a health authority, we don’t have a lot of transparency about what’s going on,” Chender said.
“So what we do know is that we need a primary care plan. How are you going to hook up all these people? A Prime Minister phoning doctors around the world isn’t going to fix that.”
Despite the growing waiting list, Thompson says the province had a record year of recruiting doctors between April 2021 and March of this year.
There were 163 physician hires and 68 departures within that time period, resulting in a net gain of 95 physicians.
Of those appointed, 75 are family doctors and 88 are specialists.
“So it’s not that the steps we’re taking haven’t been effective. If those things weren’t there, we would be in a different position than we are now,” she said.
Evelyn Hornbeck is one of thousands waiting for a family doctor. She says she was forced to add her name to the waiting list in October when her doctor suddenly retired.
“It was very stressful to be without a family doctor. I’m taking prescription drugs that I can’t get in a clinic and it feels like a ticking time bomb that’s coming on the prescription that’s about to run out,” Hornbeck said. “I put myself on the list, but there’s no guarantee and it doesn’t look like Houston government is doing anything to improve the situation anytime soon.”
In the month of June, the NDP says more than 7,000 people added their names to the list.
The Liberals came to power in 2013 after promising a doctor for every Nova Scotian, while the Houston government followed through on its promise to fix the province’s health care just last year.
“What this list represents are tens of thousands of families struggling to get the primary care they need: young parents with children who can’t get their vaccines on time, seniors struggling to keep their prescriptions and everyone in between,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chander. “We hear it time and time again, big promises about health care when the Liberals or Conservatives try to win power, but little or no action that actually matters to the people of Nova Scotia.”
The NDP says innovative and practical solutions, including joint emergency centers and joint health teams across the province, are needed to ensure everyone can get the care they need, when and where they need it.
A news release from the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia says one in 10 Nova Scotians currently does not have access to a primary care provider — a number that has increased by about 40 percent under the current government.
“No matter how you slice it, health care has gotten worse by all measures under Premier Houston,” Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said in a news release. without life-saving operations. It is not enough to simply acknowledge the problem; Nova Scotians deserve the solutions they’ve been promised.”
Churchill says Nova Scotia Health has committed to providing access to virtual care for everyone on the registry by the end of June during an April 20 public accounts committee meeting. To date, however, only a small number have been invited to take advantage of the service, according to the party.
“Houston’s government has consistently broken the critical campaign promises that Nova Scotians elected them on,” says Churchill. “More people than ever are on their own when it comes to accessing health care because of this government’s mismanagement on the record.”
In May, there were about 92,000 people on Nova Scotia’s doctor’s waiting list, a record at the time.
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