NDP calls out Houston government for removing primary care data

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia NDP is calling on the Houston government to restore public access to primary health-care data after information about the doctor waitlist was quietly removed from the Nova Scotia Health online dashboard.

Today during Question Period, Halifax Armdale MLA and NSNDP Health Critic Dr. Rod Wilson asked the Houston government to explain why they’re being less transparent with Nova Scotians.

“More than 100,000 Nova Scotians are without a family doctor, and they have been waiting months for an update on the registry,” said Wilson. “Instead of providing the transparency Nova Scotians deserve, the Houston government has simply erased the data. This is completely unacceptable.”

The online portal for the Need a Family Practice Registry included valuable information, including how many Nova Scotians found a primary health-care provider versus how many Nova Scotians lost one, and which health zones have higher numbers of Nova Scotians waiting for a provider.

The Houston government occasionally provides updates to the number of Nova Scotians still waiting for a doctor, but without additional data the numbers fail to show the complete picture of the state of primary health care in the province.

“Nova Scotians deserve to know if and where progress is being made in health care,” said Wilson. “First, they get rid of the emergency room reports. Now, they erase the numbers for the family doctor waitlist. What will they try to hide next?”

The NDP is calling on Houston to immediately restore public access to the Need a Family Practice Registry data, and commit to updating it regularly going forward.

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