Number of Nova Scotians in need of family doctor drops by nearly 20,000

CITYnews hlifax / By Chris Halef

The number of Nova Scotians in need of a family doctor has dropped by nearly 20,000 since last month.

A release from Nova Scotia Health showed that as of Oct. 4, there are 145,114 residents on the Need a Family Practice Registry.

That’s a drop from the previous month which reported 164,489 Nova Scotians on the list as of Sept. 1.

“Seeing the list drop is an encouraging sign and we will continue to work until every Nova Scotian is attached to a primary care provider,” said Premier Tim Houston.

Nova Scotia Health said 11,501 people were attached in September, marking the highest monthly attachment since the registry started.

This while 7,874 people were removed from the list as a result of ongoing validation work that confirmed they have a provider.