Family Doctors - Member's Statement

MS. CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the thousands of people from Dartmouth who are still without a family doctor.

According to the Nova Scotia Health Authority's Need a Family Practice Registry report, released on September 1st of this year, 10,209 registrants are still waiting for access to a family doctor in the Dartmouth/Southeastern zone. That means 8.8 per cent of the population are without primary care, which is the second-highest rate in the province - and let's not forget that only accounts for those who have registered.

More doctors are retiring than setting up practices in Nova Scotia at a time when a large portion of our population is reaching its elder years and experiencing complex health needs. No one must feel more nervous about the current situation than those patients and their families.

I'd like to take a moment and recognize the uncertainty and fear that my constituents are facing, feeling, and expressing to me at this time.