Nova Scotia helped communities attract doctors. But keeping them has been a challenge

There may be more doctors considering moving to Yarmouth, N.S., now than ever before, says Rick Allwright.

The executive director of the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce says 14 potential physician recruits made visits to the town in the last seven months compared to just three or four in all of the previous year.

"It's looking promising for our area," he said, noting the creation of an Atlantic physician registry last year is likely helping. 

But getting doctors to the area isn't necessarily the chamber's priority, he said. Keeping them is.

Nova Scotia is one of several Canadian provinces seeing more physicians move out than move in, according to data obtained by CBC News.

Data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information shows more than half of the provinces lost more doctors than the number gained between 2018 and 2022. 

Nova Scotia was the only Maritime province to see more physicians leave than move in during that time. 

Meanwhile, British Columbia added almost double the number of physicians than those who left.

The data is determined by "comparing the jurisdiction of residence of physicians in the previous year with the jurisdiction of residence of physicians in the given year," according to the institute of health information. All types of physicians, regardless of practice, are included in the data.

Efforts to retain doctors

Allwright said his organization, part of the Yarmouth Region Medical Professional Recruitment Partnership, spends much of its time helping physicians integrate into the community.

That includes help with housing, finding jobs for spouses, and organizing events that celebrate the doctors and help them and their families to meet other people, he said. 

"It's not just about money," Allwright said. "It is about feeling a part of a broader community."

The chamber was one of 28 organizations to receive money through a provincial fund announced in 2022 that provided up to $100,000 to community groups and municipalities for projects to help recruit and retain health-care professionals.

Allwright said the fund has been a major reason they've been able to do their work, but the province needs to address issues out of their control.

"A lot of the infrastructure for our physicians is not necessarily up to par," he said.

Yarmouth was promised a new emergency department four years ago but construction hasn't begun.

The province's Opposition leader recently criticized the government for moving too slow. Last month, Yarmouth doctors called for a concrete timeline to replace the current "inadequate" ER. 

"[A new ER] was identified early on as something that is a major selling feature for bringing new physicians," Allwright said. 

Improvement the best recruitment

Almost 1,300 physicians moved to British Columbia between 2018 and 2022, while just 717 moved out. 

"It's a very attractive health-care system where we've made historic investments," B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said in an interview. 

Dix said making improvements to your health-care system is the best way to recruit workers. 

B.C. changed their payment system which was a popular decision among doctors, he said. B.C. added 160 family physicians in just a few weeks after the switch.

Meanwhile, Dix said his province hires 80 per cent of all medical students who graduate in the province.

B.C. has also added hundreds of training spaces for medical students. Dix said all provinces should do that to boost their health-care workforce.

Allwright says Nova Scotia should be doing the same. He wants Dalhousie University to expand its medical school.

The school currently admits 134 medical students annually with 79 positions allocated for Nova Scotia residents. 

"At the end of the day … those are the physicians that are going to stay here long term," Allwright said.