“Too many doctors” in Nova Scotia? It sure doesn’t feel that way.

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Have you seen this article about how we have “too many doctors” in Nova Scotia?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/doctors-hiring-rules-halifax-family-doctors-1.3540172

I find this really bizarre, and I’d like to get your thoughts on it.  To me I see a real disconnect between the Liberal government and the Health Authority on this issue.

The Liberal government committed in their election platform in 2013 that every Nova Scotia would have a doctor.

For most people this means a family doctor or another type of primary care provider.

While the Liberals made a few small steps to encourage doctors to stay here, there are still thousands of Nova Scotians without a family doctor or a primary health care provider.

They are forced to emergency rooms, or go begging to doctors in Halifax – sometimes hundreds of kilometres from their home community.

The Health Authority uses the euphemism “unattached patients” or “orphan patients” but let’s be clear: these are people who do not have a family doctor, and have little prospect of getting one in the current environment.

Now these people are being told by the most senior doctor in the Province that we have “too many doctors.”

It sure doesn’t feel that way, especially in rural Nova Scotia.

As stated in the article, there are 20 current vacancies in Metro Halifax (or Central Zone) and – if you look at the Health Authority’s own websitehttp://physicians.novascotia.ca/opportunities.html– there are currently family physician vacancies across the Province.

The vacancies stretch from Sydney to Yarmouth to Amherst.

This list excludes other specialists AND the 20 vacancies in Metro.  I count at least 25 communities here, and I expect some need 2 or more physicians to meet current needs.

So something doesn’t compute here.  We have “too many doctors” but 75 vacancies for family physicians today?

If this is true, what real, tangible steps is the Health Authority taking to move the so called “boutique physicians” out of Halifax?

Do Nova Scotians have to wait an entire generation for doctors to redistribute themselves?  Sounds sort of like a budget balancing itself.

I hope that Liberal MLAs are NOT bringing this message from Halifax home to their constituents,

“You can’t get primary care?  Hey relax, we have too many doctors anyway.”

For your reference, here are the communities that should just relax because we have “too many doctors”: