Good start, Mr. Premier

On Monday, Stephen Mcneil tried to push the reset button on his government’s tattered relationship with many Nova Scotia family doctors.

It’s far too early to know whether the Liberals will be successful. But if the tone and substance of the premier’s announcement reflects a genuine new, sustained determination to work with doctors, it just might work.

The provincial government is promising to almost immediately pump new money into the pockets of the province’s family physicians, now the lowest paid in Canada, by substantially hiking fees for office visits and other services paid to feefor-service family doctors. New incentives are also being offered to salaried family physicans.

The increase to fees for office visits for patients under age 65 — from $31.72 to $36.50 once the annual 1.5 per cent on April 1 kicks in — is bigger than the aggregate rise in that code over the past dozen years.

Mcneil also described a slew of new, no-hassle ways for family physicians to be properly compensated for using technology, including patientfriendly electronic health records and telephone consultations with patients.

The situation for the government concerning primary care has been steadily getting worse.

More than 44,000 Nova Scotians are on the provincial list saying they urgently need a family doctor. This has steadily increased since the list was introduced in 2016. Though many thousands have come off the list as they found doctors, even more people have been joining the queue.

Many Nova Scotia family doctors reported high levels of burnout, along with frustration with government. The last contract between Doctors Nova Scotia and the province left them working longer hours for less take-home pay, many said.

Meanwhile, a concerning drumbeat of reports of family doctors leaving Nova Scotia or retiring early, or threatening to do so — thereby marooning even more patients without a family physician — continued.

Last fall, Doctors Nova Scotia announced it was suing the province for unresolved contract issues.

Something had to give. On Monday, it appeared the Liberals had finally realized their approach needed to change. To his credit, Mcneil acknowledged as much, saying government wants to rebuild its relationship with Doctors Nova Scotia.

Doctors Nova Scotia presidentelect Dr. Tim Holland, who spoke alongside the premier, also sounded cautiously optimistic about the announcement — calling it a great first step — and his organization’s relationship with government.

The money narrows, but doesn’t close, the gap in relative pay for family doctors here. But these initiatives should now help with both retention and recruitment.

The devil’s in the details, of course. Family physicians will have to assess how much Monday’s announcement will help their individual circumstances.

But we echo Dr. Holland’s words. It looks like a good first step. Build on that, Mr. Premier.