As Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil rolled out his plan for the next four years in primary health care, he was haunted by past promises.
A 2013 election promise of a doctor for every Nova Scotian never came to pass and 70-year-old Reg Andrews was at McNeil’s announcement to voice his concerns about the health care system.
READ MORE: All our Nova Scotia Election 2017 coverage
He was kept at bay during McNeil’s announcement on primary care funding, but Andrews handed him a copy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as McNeil headed for the elevator. McNeil accepted it, said “thank you very much sir,” and then kept walking.
Andrews spoke out about his wife’s two-year wait for a family doctor last week, and he is blaming McNeil for the health care system’s shortcomings.
“He’s the one that drained it,” Andrews told reporters.
Numbers from Statistics Canada show that 11 per cent of Nova Scotians, over the age of 12, didn’t have a regular health care provider in 2015. Released in March, the statistics show the shortage is worse in Halifax where 14 per cent of people said they didn’t have a family doctor.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia doctor calls family doctor shortage a ‘crisis’
As of May, the provincial health authority said 29,547 people are on the waiting list for a family doctor or collaborative care clinic. That’s up by more than 4,000 since March when it was 25,210.
None of the three main parties are promising a doctor for every Nova Scotian in this election.
WATCH: All three political parties have released their plans to improve access to primary care in Nova Scotia. But as Marieke Walsh reports, while the 2017 election is underway, Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil is still explaining a failed promise from the 2013 election.
Liberals unveil $116.7 million for primary care
Over four years the Liberals say they will roll out $116.7 million to establish more collaborative care clinics and recruit more doctors.
$78 million will go towards expanding and creating 70 collaborative care teams. However, McNeil said doctors will not be forced into collaborative care teams if they still want to work solo.
READ MORE: No budget, no timeline for Nova Scotia’s new collaborative care clinics
Another $15 million will roll out over three years for construction and renovations of collaborative care clinics. A further $11.7 million will create 10 new spaces in the family medicine residency program and $12 million will go towards tuition relief.
“As long as I’m the premier, I’ll be working extremely hard to ensure that every Nova Scotian has access to a family care team,” McNeil said.
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Tories pledge $19.5 million over four years
On Wednesday, Progressive Conservative (PC) Leader Jamie Baillie said that if his party were to form government, they would spend $19.5 million over four years to address the shortage of family doctors and specialists.
He said much of the money would be spent in the first year.
The PCs would also add $6 million to the tuition relief program to keep new family doctors in Nova Scotia. And recognize the credentials for Nova Scotians who study medicine abroad.
“Our goal is to close the gap, to end the crisis, to make sure that Nova Scotians in critical need of family doctors get them.”
The Tories say that they would also continue the measures announced in last week’s budget.
NDP say $120 million over four years will close the gap
NDP Leader Gary Burrill said on Monday his party will spend $120 million over four years to build new primary care clinics and to hire more doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners.
Burrill said an NDP government will work collaboratively with family doctors to determine what resources are needed in various communities.
“The goal is that everyone in the province should have the benefit of a stable, long term relationship of responsibility with primary care providers and be able to receive that in a primary care setting rather than in a walk-in or an ER.”
Although he won’t make promises when it comes to numbers, he said his party will work to significantly increase the medical help needed by people who are still without a physician.
-With files from The Canadian Press.
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