Number of Nova Scotians in need of family doctor reaches highest level yet
CBC
As Nova Scotia's population continues to grow, so does the number of people in the province without a doctor.
The latest numbers posted on Nova Scotia's need-a-family-practice registry show 160,234 people are on it as of June 1. That represents about 16.2 per cent of the province's population.
The numbers are rising dramatically. In the month of May alone, 4,917 people were added to the registry while 3,058 came off of it, a difference of 1,859.
"The actual growth of the registry is actually starting to level and flatten," said Colin Stevenson, the chief of system integration with Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness.
"If you look back four or five months ago, we were seeing growth in the registry that was close to 3,000 a month, so it actually has dipped down."
But no matter how officials crunch the numbers, it's still at an all-time high and there was a net increase of just 10 family physicians in Nova Scotia last year.
In Halifax, hundreds more are about to be added to the registry when Dr. Finlay Spicer retires in two weeks.
"It's a big blow to our family because it's me, my mother, who is 80 years old, my daughter, who is a Type 1 diabetic, my granddaughter and my daughter's father, who will all be losing Dr. Spicer," said Rhonda Blackburn, who was waiting for her appointment to see her doctor for the last time.
"We're just not prepared for this."
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Longtime patient Sue Manser said her options are limited.
"The thought of swinging in the wind without a doctor, it hits you right in the gut," said Manser. "I can see us spending hours in emerg, tying up valuable resources on issues normally handled by him."
There are areas of the province where a higher concentration of people are looking for a doctor. In South Cumberland, which includes Oxford, Parrsboro and Springhill, more than 30 per cent of the population is on the registry.
Yarmouth is almost as bad with more than 25 per cent of the population signed on.
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