Walk-in clinics are essential for patient care in Nova Scotia while the province's collaborative medical centres are being developed, a Nova Scotia Health Authority official said Thursday.

"We absolutely need walk-in clinics now because people don't have family doctors. I am going to have to use a walk-in. As soon as my doctor retires, I will have none. So they serve that purpose," Dr. Lynne Harrigan, the authority's vice-president of medicine, told CBC's Information Morning.

"But as we move forward, as we have collaboratives ... with a requirement to have same day/next day access, they will provide evening service, weekend coverage. When that's in place, then the role of the walk-in has to change."

The province will keep replacing doctors who work at walk-in clinics, but will not add to staff numbers, Harrigan said.

"We both have to transition over time to reach our goal. There will always be a need for walk-ins in some form, but they will have to change as we are changing."

Medical residents are staying

On Wednesday, family medicine resident representatives told CBC the lack of flexibility in working conditions for new doctors is leading them to investigate opportunities outside of Nova Scotia.

Harrigan denied that is the case.

She said high numbers — 80 per cent — of residents in Yarmouth and Annapolis Royal are either staying in those communities or remaining in the province. Two-thirds of residents working in Halifax and Sydney are also staying, she said.

To support those residents, the health authority is setting up a guaranteed income program for graduating doctors.

"I completely understand the debt issue, so we are going to set up a locum program for those residents [working outside central zone] on a salary basis so they can actually for a year or two, move around the province to areas of need, to get experience there, but to have a guaranteed income," Harrigan said.

Addressing loans

She says this addresses the issue of paying back student loans, but provides a service to Nova Scotia at the same time and will allow the province to get the collaborative medical centres up and running.

Harrigan also emphasized the health authority's strategy to include Nova Scotia doctors in primary care planning.

"Our next big step is to go out to the physicians of Nova Scotia and say: 'Here's what we think, what do you think?' The templates are being built and are ready to go. We have to go forward on a principled basis, what are the areas of greatest need, we have to prioritize them and move them in one by one," she said.

"Absolutely we need to completely engage the physicians of Nova Scotia on this. And that's the next step."