ER closures, doctor retention issues worsen health care crisis

HALIFAX – There are over 145,000 people on the Family Practice waitlist and chronic ER closures throughout the province. Today’s Health Committee will meet this afternoon to discuss ER closures and doctor retention.

Recent updates from the Department of Health and Wellness show serious issues remain:

• More people died in Nova Scotia ERs in the first nine months of 2023 than in all of 2022.
• The percentage of ambulance response times below target was down from 55.8 percent earlier this year to 48.1 in November.
• Ambulance offloads under 30 minutes are also down.
• The number of patients in the emergency room without a primary care provider is up.
• And the number of family physicians per capita is getting worse.

According to a recent national report on health care wait times, Nova Scotia has the longest waits in the country.

NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender and NSNDP Health Spokesperson Susan Leblanc will meet with the Minister of Health today.

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