Small drop in people on Nova Scotia primary care waitlist

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

There are fewer people in Nova Scotia who need a primary care doctor, according to the latest data by the provincial health agency.

As of April 1, there are 93,682 people on the registry, a drop of 2,193 from the month prior, Nova Scotia Health said in a release. This means that 8.8 per cent of the province’s population is still on the list.

The number of people on the list has been dropping over the last several months. In February, the health authority says 8,449 names were removed from the registry.

January was the last time the waitlist was over 100,000 people. The Premier Tim Houston credits the drop to programs aimed at reducing the doctor shortage.

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The numbers are now below the summer of 2022 — after the Progressive Conservatives took office — when there were slightly more than 100,000 people seeking a doctor or other family care practitioner.

Karen Oldfield, chief executive of Nova Scotia Health, previously said in a news release the organization is “cautiously optimistic” the downward trend will continue in the number of people waiting for doctors.

She credited the drop to ongoing recruitment efforts, including the creation of an assessment centre to help certify foreign-trained doctors more quickly.

The next update for the list is expected in early May.