N.S. opposition leaders question delay in updating family doctor waitlist

Nova Scotia's opposition leaders accused the Houston government Wednesday of withholding the latest figures reflecting the number of Nova Scotians on the need-a-family-practice registry. 

The online portal is showing figures that are now almost two months old. As of June 1, 160,234 people were registered as needing a family doctor or wanting to be attached to a primary care team.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the province isn't posting new numbers because it doesn't fit with the government's narrative that it's improving health care.

"We've got twice as many people without a family doctor under Tim Houston's leadership, despite the fact that he said he had the solutions to fix health care," Churchill told CBC News. "And instead of being upfront with Nova Scotians about this, they always try to hide this information."

NDP Leader Claudia Chender called it another indication the premier is considering an early election call, rather than sticking to his government's fixed election date of July 15, 2025.

"We know that this election, whenever it comes, will be a referendum on whether or not the government has kept their singular promise, which was to fix health care," said Chender. "This list is the best tool we have for determining that and without these numbers it's very difficult to say what's happening."

Chender said that Nova Scotians deserve to see the numbers, and that the government isn't being transparent with people.

Health authority says it's reviewing list

A spokesperson for Nova Scotia Health said the delay is linked to an attempt to reconcile the list. The health authority said it last verified the information in August 2023.

After that review, Nova Scotia Health said 4,200 people were removed, with most of them having invalid health cards.

"Nova Scotia Health is in the process of phoning registrants to validate their contact information, attachment status and encourage them to complete the health questionnaire," spokesperson Jennifer Lewandowski wrote in an email.

"The same validation work was done at this time last year and takes several weeks to complete."

According to the registry, the number of people on the hunt for a family practice has been increasing every month since last September.

Over those 10 months, the number of people on the registry grew by 17,777. The latest number — 160,234 people— represents about 16.2 per cent of the province's population.