Article contentSmith said “it’s very hard to say when we’ll get to zero” on the Need a Family Practice registry. Article contentDespite the announcement earlier this week of three new health homes in the Halifax region, Sackville-Cobequid MLA Paul Wozney asked why government’s plan to create a series of health homes and collaborative care clinics across the province is not made public, with a timeline for clinics opening their doors.Article contentStevenson said there was a plan released in May of 2023 highlighting a plan to move forward with approximately 60 primary care clinics within the province.Article contentStevenson said that number has been exceeded.Article content118 health home clinics in the provinceArticle contentThe committee was told that there are 118 health homes operated across the province by Nova Scotia Health, some that are completely new and others that have absorbed an existing practice.Article contentAsked by New Democrat MLA Wozney about the confusion over Nova Scotia Health’s releases on diminishing numbers on the Need a Family Practice registry, Stevenson said the number reported is a net number, taking into consideration the new people on the registry who might be newly moved into the province or who have lost their health-care provider and the number of people who have been attached.Article contentArticle content“It’s an accurate number that actually reflects what the shift and the change is,” he said. “Some months there is a bigger shift than others in one direction or another. … There is no misinformation or misreporting associated with what those numbers are. There continues to be work as it relates to validation of people on that list, people who have found attachment or have left the province are removed from the list.”Article contentDerek Mombouquette, the Liberal MLA for Sydney-Membertou, said he questions the list.Article content“The current government used that list on a daily basis when they ran to become government,” Mombourquette said. Article content“This current government removed that (online) information, they removed the information by zone. I use the Cape Breton Regional Hospital for example, the ER wait times are the highest by far, ambulance offload times are up 300 per cent in Cape Breton, so there are some significant challenges and people every day were following that information and it was public for everyone to see.Article contentArticle content“That information should be public.” Article content Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette says the dashboard information about Nova Scotians who need a family doctor should be made public again. Photo by Ryan Taplin /The Chronicle HeraldArticle contentStevenson said it is the intention to make the number of people on the registry public.Article contentAsked if the province was confident that the people needed to staff the three health homes announced Monday will be available, Smith said from a physician perspective, Nova Scotia is enjoying unprecedented levels of interest in practising here. Article contentElliott Rose said 253 physicians were recruited to the province last year, 89 of whom were family physicians, along with 998 nurses recruited to Nova Scotia Health and a growth in all of the priority professions in allied health.Article content“For all clinicians they are looking to work in teams, more so than ever before,” she said.Article contentElliott Rose said that as of March 31 of this year, 536 physicians were working in health homes, along with 125 nurse practitioners, 133 family practice and registered nurses, 44 licensed practical nurses, 39 social workers, 17 registered dieticians, eight pharmacists, five occupational therapists and more than 138 other team members working to make collaborative care happen.Article content
Collaborative care for Nova Scotians pitched as right care, right place, right time
