Number of Nova Scotians registered to find family doctor rises again

The number of Nova Scotians officially looking for a doctor has jumped again.

The province’s Need A Family Practice website puts the Nov. 1 number at 59,225, which is about two per cent higher than last month and 32 per cent higher compared to last year at this time.

In the Annapolis Valley, southwestern Nova Scotia and the Shore Shore, 17,384 people have registered with the province as needing a doctor.

Most of the people registered – 29,544 – live in Halifax Regional Municipality, Eastern Shore and West Hants.

People can register on the province’s needafamilypractice. nshealth.ca website and through the 811 telehealth system.

The registry was created in November 2016 but the health authority only started releasing statistics last November. At that time there were 39,965 names on the list. During a recent scrum at Province House, reporters asked Health Minister Randy Delorey when he expects the numbers to turn around.

“We don’t have a timeline,” he said, adding the province will continue to work on doctor recruitment and match those physicians to the areas where there is the most need.

Delorey said 33,000 Nova Scotians who didn’t have a family doctor when the registry was created have one today. He also noted the province is funding 10 additional residency spaces for students at the Dalhousie Medical School, which will have a long-term positive impact on doctor recruitment in the province.