Number of Nova Scotians on doctor wait-list drops by more than 9,000

A primary care provider and a patient are pictured. (Source: New Brunswick Health Council)

The number of Nova Scotians in need of a primary care provider continues to go down, according to the province’s health authority.

Nova Scotia Health says 110,456 people were on the Need a Family Practice Registry as of Thursday.

That number is down more than 9,000 people since the health authority’s last update on Dec. 4, 2024, when it sat at 119,670.

Nova Scotia Health says the 9,214 people removed from the registry were either attached to primary care or removed as a result of ongoing validation work that confirmed they already have a provider.

The percentage of Nova Scotians currently on the Need a Family Practice Registry is 10.4 per cent.

Nova Scotia Health says its next update on the registry will be in early February.

Previous counts

Data released by Nova Scotia Health shows the number of people in need of primary care continues to decrease.

As of Nov. 27, 2024, 119,670 people were on the Need a Family Practice Registry – down from 145,114 people on the list the month before.

On Sept. 1, 2024, the list sat at 164,489.

The registry, which went public in 2018, recorded 100,592 people in July 2022; that number shot up to 152,001 by July 2023.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.