Families need access to primary care, Houston must address waitlist this sitting

HALIFAX – While more than 137,000 Nova Scotians wait to be connected with primary care, the Houston government has done little to ensure families can get the care they need, when they need it.

David Wareing is one of the people who will soon be without primary care when the Southend Family Practice Clinic in Halifax closes later this year.

“How long can I expect to wait until I am attached to a primary care clinic? There’s no information provided when you join the list to let you know how long you might have to wait,” said Wareing. “The government should support and help keep clinics open until you have solid timelines about transitioning to any new model of health care. I simply do not believe any real effort was put into getting a new doctor in the Halifax clinic.”

Primary care clinics have been closing across the province, with clinics in South End Halifax and Spryfield being the latest in the news. The Houston government's inaction and inability to connect people with primary care is pushing thousands more Nova Scotians onto the waitlist in the middle of a health care crisis.

“We need a serious response from this government about how and when we will see people begin to come off the waitlist, which requires support for existing physicians and a shift to Family Health Teams and other collaborative care options,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Too many Nova Scotians have been left on their own by a government that’s out of touch with their day to day experience of getting care in this province. Health care workers want to be working collaboratively, the Premier needs to make that happen.”

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