Is there a doctor in the house?

Ask people about the main shortcomings of the health-care system in Nova Scotia and inevitably mentioned will be the number of people without a family doctor.

That was part of the discussion last week at a meeting held by Pictou County’s three MLAs, all opposition members.

And we know the problem exists elsewhere in the province.

Premier Stephen McNeil is well aware of it. He said this week that ensuring everyone has access to a family doctor remains a campaign promise he hopes to keep. This comes three years into the Liberals’ mandate – with the usual open-ended year, or two, or possibly several months to go.

The premier apparently should have sought a second opinion before saying he’s sticking with the pledge. According to Nova Scotia Health Authority CEO Janet Knox, the goal of every resident having a doctor will likely take five years.

The end goal is a long and continuing process.

It not only takes on the challenge of a chronic shortage over the years, it involves replacing those who retire or move away.

A reader poll on ngnews.ca following the MLA-sponsored meeting yielded results of 19 per cent responding that they have no doctor.

Such a small sampling isn’t necessarily accurate, but the conventional estimate is 10 per cent struggling without that key ingredient in maintaining health.

The story of not having a doctor is heard over and over in smaller towns, although doubtless the shortage isn’t limited to those. But hand-in-hand with the quest to hire sufficient doctors, the province needs to find some way to address reasons often given when they leave: some doctors find fewer opportunities for advancement and for family life in outlying areas; fewer new doctors are interested in handling the business end of a family practice; not everyone wants to work the marathon hours typically required in a smaller community.

The hiring of more nurse practitioners and setting up of collaborative care teams – currently part of the strategy – will fill some of the gap, but that too will take time. On that note, this shift in approach is good illustration of the need to review the conventional model and find more efficient ways to provide care.

As far as political will goes, it’s hard to say how much this could be an election issue when the time comes. The majority do have a doctor, and so might not be disgruntled in this regard. But the Liberals certainly must recognize this as a pressing issue, one they would do well to remedy.