Number of people at emergency rooms without a family doctor increased 127 per cent

HALIFAX -- New data released through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request shows that the number of people going to the ER who do not have a family doctor increased 127 per cent between 2014 and 2020. The number of people who left the ER without being seen has grown by 46 per cent since the Liberals took power.

"These numbers demonstrate that throughout the eight years of Liberal government, the situation in our hospitals has continued to go downhill," said NDP Leader Gary Burrill. "We need a government that will improve health care in Nova Scotia by expanding tele-health, implementing mobile mental health teams and same-day/next-day mental health care, and incorporating physician assistants into the provision of primary care."

In 2019 the NDP Caucus tabled the Emergency Department Standards Act, which would have required the government to report on the state of emergency rooms throughout the province each month. This information would help track the state of the health care crisis and ensure investments and programs in place were resulting in improvements.

“People in our province need to be able to access care when and where they need it,” said NDP Health and Wellness spokesperson Susan Leblanc. “The Liberal government has known about these issues for years yet we see things getting worse, not better. Nova Scotians deserve better than a government that ignores the health care crisis in our hospitals.”

As of May 1, more than 65,000 Nova Scotians were on the waitlist for a family doctor.

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