More Nova Scotians are on the verge of being without a family doctor as two physicians in the Halifax area get set to retire.
This means thousands of people will lose their access to primary care in April upon the retirement of Dr. Margaret Rowicka and Dr. Mary O’Neill, who work at the Spryfield Family Medicine clinic.
The doctors say despite their best efforts, their calls for support have gone unanswered.
“We are basically swamped, we are exhausted, we’re on the verge of burnout,” says Dr. Rowicka.
“I’m actually retiring earlier than I thought. I can’t continue to do it. My family, my personal life is suffering, and I just have to leave because without any help this is not sustainable.”
She and Dr. O’Neill feel retirement is the only option amid a hefty workload.
“I have 2,500 patients that I look after by myself — and that is definitely not sustainable in the current climate of health care,” explains Dr. O’Neill.
Together they care for about 4,000 patients who will now need to find new physicians. This comes as the family doctor waitlist has hit an all-time high with more than 137,000 names.
The physicians say the workload stems from the complex needs of an aging population along with an increase in paperwork and referral follow-up.
“This is a low socio-economic area and patients here need a little bit more than the average patient,” says Dr. Rowicka.
“We are here as social workers, counsellors, dieticians, and do administrative work because we have to do a lot of forms and letters for patients for community services.”
The doctors say despite their best efforts, they’ve not been able to secure a new physician or a nurse practitioner.
“We were told if our family practice starts taking new patients on the Nova Scotia Health Authority can consider giving us a family practice nurse,” says Dr. Rowicka. “But we cannot take any more patients. We’re swamped.”
Brendan Maguire is the MLA for the area and says he’s working with the province and Nova Scotia Health Authority to help find resources.
“The premier has said he’ll spend and do whatever it takes but what we’re seeing now is that family clinics are shutting down because they’re not getting the help and the resources they need,” Magure says.
He’s worried about the remaining doctors at the clinic, saying they’ll now be stretched thin.
The news comes as another clinic in south end Halifax gets ready to close its doors in August, leaving 4,000 patients without primary care.
The MLA for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island says when these clinics lose doctors, it impacts the health of a community.
“When we start losing family clinics here and there that’s what we’re losing — a key pathway to health in communities,” they say.
The Southend Family Practice is in Lachance’s district.
Dr. O’Neill says the biggest battle health-care workers are facing is a lack of staffing.
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“We just need more doctors, period,” she says.
In a statement, Nova Scotia Health says it has been engaged in recruiting efforts for the Spryfield Clinic since last June.
“Our recruitment team is also working with current Dalhousie Family Medicine residents who are looking for practice locations in the Halifax area once they complete their studies,” the statement says.
“In addition to this, the recruitment team will be exhibitors at various medical conferences focused on family medicine physicians in the months of March, April, and May, which will expose family medicine vacancies to thousands of physicians, both nationally and internationally.”
Dr. O’Neill wants to see more doctors and nurse practitioners trained in the province. She’s also hoping the government will make it easier for doctors who’ve studied abroad to come home to Canada to work to help alleviate strain on the system.
“It’s not what any GP envisions when they take on a lot of patients to be leaving the patients with no one to look after them, but that is the situation, sadly,” she says.
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