Source: Facebook

Almost 130,000 thousand people in the province were on the wait list for a family doctor in January.

However, in a news release, NDP Leader Claudia Chender says the Houston government still hasn’t released this month’s waitlist number.

“Each month thousands more people find themselves without a family doctor and don’t know where to turn when their kids, elderly parents, or they themselves need help,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Here on the South Shore 16 per cent of people are on the list and that number keeps growing. The lack of primary care is the root of the healthcare crisis. We have to find new ways to ensure people can see a doctor or nurse practitioner when they need one and that they are connected to long term.”

They say the amount of people waiting for primary care has increased by 43,000 in the last 12 months, with 16 percent in the south shore alone.

The NDP say the Houston Government needs to prioritize a shift to collaborative care clinics, something seen in PEI, by building patient medical homes, a team-based model.

“When rural ERs were closing and people didn’t know how to get the emergency care the needed, New Democrats implemented CECs that gave local communities consistent access to overnight emergency care, and same-day or next-day primary care,” said NDP Health spokesperson Susan Leblanc. “We need serious action from the Houston government to make sure that people have the primary care home they need.”