The following is from a press release
HALIFAX: In just 19 months since the Houston government took office, the doctor waitlist has now more than doubled to 142,242 Nova Scotians, growing by another 5,000 people in April alone.
“These shocking numbers need solutions and today’s announcement by the province on a new ‘reporting dashboard’ does nothing for the 142,000 Nova Scotians looking to this government for a family doctor,” said Zach Churchill, Leader of the Official Opposition.
“In addition to the skyrocketing doctor waitlist, the increasing ER wait times, patient offloading times and no movement on the surgical backlog are adding even more stress to our healthcare system.
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“All of which are the cascading result of more and more doctors leaving family practice under this government”, added Churchill.
“There are immediate steps that can be taken today, like reinstating the successful doctor incentive program in the HRM-Central Zone, which is being hit the hardest by this doctor shortage since the Houston government cancelled the incentive.”
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On the government’s push for more use of virtual care, Churchill said that is not the solution for the issues arising from the growing doctor shortage.
“While there is a role for virtual care in the province, it should not be the replacement for family and primary care clinics, because there are too many medical issues that people need to be treated in-person by a doctor that cannot be conducted over a computer screen”, said Churchill.
This is also the third straight month the government missed their own deadline to release the latest monthly numbers on time.
