'That’s the biggest jump I’ve seen': Maritime provinces see doctor wait lists grow
Bernadette Landry recently lost her family doctor, someone she had been seeing for years.
So, she says it doesn’t surprise her to hear the wait list for a primary care practitioner has grown by the thousands so far this year.
New Brunswick’s Department of Health says the list sits at about 74,000 people.
“You have to wonder sometimes, why doctors decide to leave?” she said. "Their working conditions are not always ideal, that is for sure. It's like all health-care workers, they're all being stretched out to the limit.”
As chair of the New Brunswick Health Coalition, she says many seniors — like her — are concerned about the move to e-visits, stressing it’s not the same as expressing health concerns in person, and building trust with a single practitioner.
In a statement Monday, the department said it has recruited nine family physicians, but in the same time frame, lost 10. They’re promising more emphasis on recruitment incentives, aiming to be more competitive with other provinces and countries.
It’s also working on rolling out its new New Brunswick Health Link, which promises to remove people from the waitlist and connect them with a practitioner when they need one until a permanent replacement is found.
Work is underway on the program, which is currently focused on the Moncton region.
The New Brunswick Medical Society called the growing list “disheartening.”
“While efforts are underway to recruit new physicians to the province, we also need to work harder to ensure current New Brunswick physicians are being supported and appreciated in order to strengthen retention,” said president Dr. Mark MacMillan in a statement.
“In the meantime, we are hopeful that the New Brunswick Health Link will help facilitate access to care for those patients without a family physician and we look forward to the results of its initial rollout in the Moncton area.”
Nova Scotia isn’t immune.
According to the Nova Scotia Health Authority, 105,187 Nova Scotians are on the Need a Family Practice Registry as of Aug. 1 — up from 100,592 on July 1.
It’s an increase of 30,000 people in less than a year.
“That's the biggest jump I’ve seen in a year since I’ve been elected for 12 years,” said Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill.
The top reasons as to why range from population growth, to doctors leaving or retiring.
The August report states that 37.6 per cent of people said they wanted to be added to the registry because they were new to an area, and 24.7 per cent reported their provider had moved or closed their practice.
“There's another half of those folks who are leaving the profession for other reasons and a big thing we're hearing is, they're exhausted. They're dealing with wave after wave of COVID-19 and it's putting so much pressure on them and their colleagues that it's tapping people out,” Churchill said.
Prince Edward Island’s wait list sits at 25,261, as of Aug. 8. Of those, 383 have a primary care provider but are requesting a new one.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Ex-SNC executive sentenced to prison term in bridge bribery case
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.