N.S. patients taken off doctor waitlist waiting months for appointment: opposition

Nova Scotia's opposition parties say they are skeptical of the provincial government's shrinking list of residents waiting for a family doctor.

The NDP and Liberals say they have heard from constituents who were offered primary care and removed from the waitlist, but who have been waiting months for an appointment at a clinic.

Nova Scotia Health says the province's list of people in need of a family doctor or nurse practitioner has dropped to 93,700 as of April 1, down from the 104,300 people on Feb. 15.

But NDP Leader Claudia Chender says she's heard from people who are stuck in limbo waiting for a clinic to contact them for an appointment.

Liberal House leader Iain Rankin said constituents have told him the same thing and that he's skeptical about the new waitlist numbers, but neither he nor Chender have said how many people are in this situation.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson said last week it will take "a period of time" for a patient to book an appointment after they are officially offered a primary care provider and removed from the waitlist.

Nova Scotia Health says they don't know how many people are waiting for a clinic to contact them after they were offered a primary care provider.