The waitlist for getting a family doctor has climbed beyond 150,000 residents, according to Nova Scotia Health — about 15 per cent of the province’s population.
In a new report updated on Aug. 21, nearly 3,500 residents were added to the growing list, which has now reached 152,001 residents.
Nova Scotia’s central zone has been amongst the hardest hit on the waitlist, accounting for those looking to get off the list. The latest data shows that 47 per cent of those on the waitlist are in the HRM and surrounding area.
The numbers have been a burden of anxiety for one resident on the waitlist in Dartmouth. Bill Zebedee’s doctor left the country at the end of July, which has since left him stranded.
With Graves disease and mental health challenges, Zebedee was a regular of Dr. Uday Krishna Myneni, who recently returned to India after serving his practice in Nova Scotia. According to Zebedee, his 3,000 patients were left to find another doctor after the closure.
“The search has been hell,” he told Global News in an interview on Monday. “No doctors are accepting patients right now.”
Like many residents, Zebedee has been trying to find suitable alternatives for his family doctor. He’s been using online care in the meantime but said that care can be pretty hit-and-miss.
Hopeful to find a doctor, he’s trying to get an interview with a doctor in the meantime to get a spot.
It’s something that Health Minister Michelle Thompson said is a priority for the Houston government, who said the province has seen the numbers fluctuate over the past number of months.
When asked how many family doctors have left their practice, the health minister could not provide a number on how many were lost, saying that it would be extremely difficult, but did boast of how many the province added.
“I can tell you that we recruited 168 physicians, which is the largest number of physicians that have been recruited in the past year,” she said.
Thompson told Global News that the province has increased the ways patients can use the health-care system for those who aren’t on the list, boasting new ways for care through pharmacies and virtual care.
For some, it’s an option they’d rather not take.
“I am worried I won’t get the care right away,” David LeBlanc, who has been on the list for two years, said.
“I thought I was kind of winging it when I got on the list. I was number 80,000. I’ve come to find out the list has grown a bit.”
He said that while he has found a walk-in clinic, he worries that if his preferred clinic is not available, others aren’t accessible.
LeBlanc worries that virtual care won’t provide the same amount of care by using some of Thompson’s recommendations.
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