Nova Scotia’s government has announced funding of $6.3 million to support its effort in retaining doctors, it said in a Wednesday morning release.
The province said it has partnered with the department of family medicine at Dalhousie University to, over the next four years, help connect more Nova Scotians to a primary care provider, and help recent graduates of the program gain hands-on experience.
“Improving healthcare is the most pressing issue for Nova Scotians,” Premier Tim Houston said in the release.
“We need new ideas to fix long-standing issues and to help better recruit and retain healthcare professionals so that Nova Scotians can access the care they need.”
According to the province, the funding will help new graduates and new doctors establish practices in Nova Scotia, starting at Dalhousie’s family medicine clinics.
“Doctors will be supported in transitioning to their own practice and will maintain their roster of patients,” read the release.
Houston made the announcement in person on Wednesday morning at the the Dalhousie Family Medicine Clinic in Halifax, along with Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson.
Thompson said in the news release that projects like these will “help doctors put down roots in our communities.”
Nova Scotia Health had already had a long-standing partnership with Dalhousie through which hundreds of patients have been connected with a care provider.
The province said more than 780 people in Fairview, Armdale, Spryfield, Herring Cove and Halifax Chebucto have been connected with a primary care provider through this partnership.
One new patient of Dalhousie family medicine, Michael MacDonald, said in the province’s release he is “so relieved to finally have a family doctor” for his family.
“I was able to share our health history with a nurse over the phone. This saved us from needing to go in and sit in a waiting room, or to meet with a doctor only to share this same information,” he said. “Things can be super busy with two small children. This saved us time and trouble, which we obviously welcomed.”
The head of the department of family medicine at Dalhousie, Dr. Katherine Stringer, said the school is “grateful for the investment and the opportunity to partner with Nova Scotia Health.”
The goal for the province, as outlined in its Action for Health plan, is for the clinic to take in 3,500 additional patients who are currently on the wait-list for primary care.
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