Patient of Halifax clinic slated for closure worries about future with no family doctor – Halifax | 24CA News

A affected person in Halifax whose household physician is closing her follow is anxious about what this implies for him and the hundreds of different sufferers.

All 4 medical doctors on the Southend Family Practice, positioned within the Halifax Professional Centre on Spring Garden Road, are closing their practices as of Aug. 30, which is able to depart greater than 4,000 sufferers with no major care supplier.

In a letter to sufferers final week, Dr. Maria Sampson stated “lack of support” was a contributing issue.

“Despite working with the Nova Scotia physician recruitment team for over a year, they have not secured a replacement physician to take over any of our patients,” she stated.

“I regret and understand the stress this will cause you. The current state of health care in Nova Scotia and the lack of support for primary care providers has accelerated this closure.”

The different physicians are Drs. Sarah Brydie, Johanna Graham and Lianne Yoshida.

Darrell Spurr, who had been a affected person on the Southend Family Clinic for 20 years, stated he heard in regards to the closure first-hand from his supplier, Dr. Yoshida.

“It was obvious that she was not happy about having to do this,” he stated.

“It’s difficult … because you know sooner or later your doctor may give you news that they’re retiring, or they’re moving to a different practice.

“It’s happened to me before in the past, but I’ve never had a problem with getting a doctor before.”

Spurr stated he had a very good expertise along with his physician, who, regardless of being busy, ensured he was well-taken-care-of. One time, he stated he had surgical procedure and he or she confirmed up on the hospital to verify he was OK.

“There’s not many doctors that do that in this day and age,” he stated. “She always had time for me, but it was obvious she was under a lot of pressure.”

Now, he and the hundreds of different sufferers from that clinic are staring down the barrel of the province’s Need a Family Practice Registry, the waitlist for a major care supplier that continues to develop with every passing month.

The waitlist hit an all-time excessive of 137,587 folks this month, making up virtually 14 per cent of the province’s complete inhabitants.

The figures are up by almost 4,000 folks since final month, which Spurr referred to as “disheartening.”

The province’s well being division couldn’t be reached for remark Saturday, however Health Minister Michelle Thompson instructed reporters final week that the medical doctors on the clinic had requested “additional resources” — one other physician to share their workload.

Thompson stated they have been “not able to reach an agreement” and it was decided that the extra sources “would not, in fact, result in an increased level of access.”

“I appreciate that it’s unfortunate, it’s very difficult for those patients,” she stated, “but again, we will continue to work with Nova Scotia primary care providers to not only look at how we support them in their current practice, but how we improve attachment and access.”

Thompson stated the medical doctors will keep within the province and work in different areas of the health-care system.

Spurr, nevertheless, questions the logic behind denying the clinic an additional physician, ensuing within the lack of 4 household physicians.

“What is one doctor compared to losing four doctors?” he stated.

Zach Churchill, chief of the opposition Liberals, instructed Global News that the province has by no means earlier than seen such a big enhance within the variety of folks searching for a household physician.

“This government was elected to fix health care, and we’ve only seen the major parts of our health-care system get worse,” he stated, noting the rising household physician wait record, in addition to emergency room and surgical procedure wait instances.

“What the current government is doing is not working … this is not an acceptable situation.”

1:54New era of Nova Scotia medical doctors on enhancing well being system

Churchill stated it was a mistake for the province to cast off an incentive to draw medical doctors to the Halifax area – one of many fastest-growing areas within the nation – and in addition decried what he referred to as “political involvement in the management of our health-care system.”

“This government got rid of a board of experts, they fired medical professionals who were managing the health-care system and put in place their political friends and allies,” he stated.

“We have heard that people are worried that the decisions are being made through a political lens and not a health-care lens.”

Susan LeBlanc, NDP spokesperson for Health and Wellness, stated she worries about folks on the waitlist for a physician getting “lost in the system.”

She stated those that don’t have entry to major care have to depend on digital care, or walk-in clinics that may be “very hard to get into.”

“It’s really tricky, and ultimately what it means is people won’t get care when they need it, and end up getting sicker,” she stated.

“And so that means people will be going to emergency departments, and on and on. It’s just a domino effect into the rest of the health-care system.”

Both Churchill and LeBlanc stated they wish to see the province work with medical doctors and different health-care professionals to make sure they’ve the sources they should proceed working within the province.

LeBlanc additionally stated she wish to see “substantial investment” in collaborative household well being groups and doctor assistants on this yr’s provincial price range.

Meanwhile, Spurr stated enhancements to the struggling health-care system are urgently wanted.

“Show us what you’re planning on doing about health care, not tell us about what you’re going to do four years from now,” he stated.

— with recordsdata from Vanessa Wright