HALIFAX—Two Dartmouth NDP MLAs are sounding the alarm about what they say is a crisis brewing in their community due to a family doctor shortage.

“We’re in a situation where a lot of our walk-in clinics are full for the day 10 minutes after they open. They have a lineup at the door before they open, and all those appointments get filled,” said Claudia Chender, MLA for Dartmouth South.

“They can’t open at certain times because they don’t have doctors to staff them. The whole system is deeply, deeply stressed and of course the victims of that are the residents of Dartmouth.”

Earlier this month, the province’s NDP party received results of a recently-filed freedom of information request. They asked for numbers showing how many Nova Scotians who went to regional emergency departments between 2013 and 2018 didn’t have a family doctor.

Figures pertaining specifically to the Dartmouth General Hospital were shared with the Star. Additional numbers for the rest of the province will be made available sometime this week, the party said.

The Dartmouth-specific data shows the number of patients presenting without a family doctor at the Dartmouth General Hospital has tripled since 2013, jumping from 2,598 in 2013 to 8,246 in 2018.

That’s more than a 200-per-cent increase.

During a December 13, 2017 public accounts hearing on physician recruitment at the Nova Scotia Legislature, Chender brought up concerns that Dartmouth was set to lose 40 per cent of its doctors due to retirement within the next five years.

On Friday, she said that anticipated loss of doctors is set to further exacerbate an already serious problem.

“We have been lucky to have a few doctors set up shop in Dartmouth, but the reality is it’s sort of just a drop in the bucket of our need because as we know a lot of the doctors retiring had enormous caseloads and it takes at least two doctors to replace every one,” Chender said.

“We have had no indication at all from the province that they understand this severe and specific challenge that we’re facing here in Dartmouth, and so we just really need them to step up to the plate.”

Chender said the situation in her community also highlights the fact that the province’s doctor shortage isn’t just a rural issue.

“We want some acknowledgement that we live in a huge urban area, and the Dartmouth General catchment serves a number of marginalized and historically challenged communities and they’re folks that need care,” she said. “We just want to emphasize that we need help.”

Dartmouth North MLA Susan Leblanc echoed many of Chender’s comments. She described the tripling of the number of patients visiting the Dartmouth General Hospital who don’t have a family doctor as “really shocking and really scary.” She said when she goes door-to-door in her constituency, health care is the number one topic of concern.

“What I’m really worried about is the general health of the population given that if we follow the trends that are happening now, in the next several years when 40 per cent more of the doctors are set to retire, it’s going to be terrible,” Leblanc said. “It already is terrible. It’s going to get massively worse if something doesn’t change, if there’s no mitigation to counter those retirements.”

Tim Holland, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” by the significant increase in people without a family doctor accessing the Dartmouth General’s emergency department.

“It does go to highlight the overall issues we have with retention and recruitment in Nova Scotia. I work in the emergency department in Truro and I see this all the time, patients without family doctors,” Holland said.

“It definitely has a major impact on their health not just in terms of access, but also in terms of having a family doctor to be able to monitor for chronic conditions, to be able to be in tune with any arising health needs. I mean, it’s more than just a convenience factor. It’s actually a major health factor.”

Holland said the situation in Dartmouth “is being played out across the province.”

He pointed to the Doctors Nova Scotia position paper released last September titled ‘Road Map to a Stable Physician Workforce.’ Completed in partnership with the Maritime Resident Doctors and the Dalhousie Medical Students’ Society, it highlights six changes they say will help retain and recruit physicians.

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“Those are six key recommendations that we think are both actionable and achievable in the short term that will make a major impact on retention and recruitment in Nova Scotia,” Holland said. “It’s worth noting that government has voiced an interest in these and we are working on them. We just need to see some real action in the next few months.”

According to the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s latest ‘Need A Family Practice Data’ report, as of Feb. 1 there were still 51,845 Nova Scotians on its waiting list without a family doctor.

Of that number, 22,245 were from the Central Zone, which encompasses the Halifax Regional Municipality, Eastern Shore and West Hants areas.

Those numbers don’t include people without a family doctor who haven’t put their names on the list.

In response to a request from the Star about the shortage of physicians in Dartmouth and the status of physician recruitment and retention there, the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) on Friday provided an emailed statement.

“We were aware and concerned with the number of vacancies expected from retirement about two years ago and are now encouraged by recent recruitment and interest in Dartmouth,” the email stated.

The NSHA said since April 1, 2018, 10 physicians have been recruited to Dartmouth and two more have accepted offers and are expected to start soon.

In its Feb. 1, 2019 ‘Finding A Primary Care Provider in Nova Scotia’ report, the NSHA states that 10,049 people have found a primary care provider in the Dartmouth area in the past two years.

In addition to enhancements made to the provincial recruitment strategy with family medicine vacancies classified as a high need specialty, the NSHA said it has also had success focusing on international opportunities.

“The province is working to help recruit as well by offering physician immigration supports and including Dartmouth and area in the incentives programs for new physicians,” said the NSHA.

“We increased relocation support and site visit support and included Dartmouth in that program as well. Dartmouth is a great community to live and work and we are encouraged by recent interest in the area.”

The NSHA said of the 80 collaborative family practice teams across the province, six are in the Dartmouth area. The NSHA also said since 2017, more than 40 new primary health care providers were hired in HRM and West Hants area. More than a third of those new staff members are practicing in Dartmouth, and include nurse practitioners and family practice nurses.

Yvette d’Entremont is a Halifax-based reporter focusing on health. Follow her on Twitter: @ydentremont

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