Despite record dollars being spent on health care, there were 153,373 Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice Waitlist on February 1st. That’s more than double the number that were on the list on September 1, 2021. (There were 75,180 on the list when the current government took office, vowing to “fix” healthcare.) The latest stats are also a record for the most on the list — ever.
In the past month alone, 1,900 people in Central Zone (the zone where Bedford is located) were added to the list.
Every day, I hear health care horror stories from people across the province who are falling through the cracks because they don’t have a primary care physician or nurse practitioner.
55 percent of the people on the waitlist are there because their doctor has closed their practice, retired, or is retiring. 34.9 percent are here because they are new to the area, and 9.9 percent have not needed a doctor until now.
The monthly report from the Health Authority is difficult to access. You can easily find the latest charts and numbers on my Facebook page.