Nova Scotians deserve to know where the family practice waitlist stands

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia New Democrats are calling on the Houston government to release the July numbers for the Need a Family Practice Registry.

Today is the last day of the month and it’s unclear how much the list has grown since June. There were more than 160,000 Nova Scotians on the list, equal to about 16 per cent of the population, as of June 1.

The Premier has said the delay is due to work to verify that everyone on the list needs a family doctor.

“While ensuring the list is up-to-date is important, it’s our understanding that work is supposed to be ongoing and there shouldn’t be a reason why we can’t know how many people have been added to the list in the last two months,” said NSNDP Health spokesperson Susan Leblanc. “Many Nova Scotians are struggling with a lack of attachment to primary care and they have a right to know the current state of the system and if anything is improving. These numbers should not be hidden from the public.”

Between May 1 and June 1, over 4,900 Nova Scotians added themselves to the list. The June list had a net increase of 1,859 people.

The Need a Family Practice Registry has more than doubled since the Houston government was elected in August 2021.

“The Need a Family Practice Registry is a key way to gauge the extent to which the Houston government is keeping its 2021 promise to fix the health-care system,” said NSNDP leader Claudia Chender. “Tim Houston has suggested that he won’t respect the election date that he fixed. Nova Scotians deserve to know how many people are on the list so that they can determine for themselves whether his singular promise has been kept.”

According to the Action for Health website, 26.5 of all emergency department visits are by patients without access to a primary health-care provider.

The NSNDP continues to call on the Houston government to expand collaborative care and create more dedicated family doctor clinics where patients can receive the primary care they need and deserve.

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