HALIFAX — Tim Houston was wrapping up his election victory speech on Aug. 18, 2021, when Nova Scotia's premier-designate repeated a pledge he had made many times during the campaign. "For the next four years and beyond .
.. I will promise you this: I will give you everything I have to fix health care," he said, reaffirming the Progressive Conservatives' singular focus on the hustings.
"We can put Nova Scotia on the path to sustainability and fix our health-care system." Three years later, Houston has called an election for Nov. 26 knowing the contest could be a referendum on whether he has delivered on that lofty pledge.
Government data show the Tories made some progress during their first term, but fell far short of repairing a system beset by shortages of doctors and nurses, and long wait times for ambulance and emergency room services. The province’s Need A Family Practice Registry — a key health-care indicator — was updated earlier this month for the first time since June when it reached a record 160,234 people without a family doctor or nurse practitioner. While the latest figures pointed to a big improvement, with 145,114 people now on the registry, that number is far higher than in the spring of 2021, when there were half as many people on the list.
And the latest numbers show that 16.2 per cent of Nova Scotians were still seeking a primary care provider, well above the government's goal of five per cent, and the highest rate since the 2021-22 fiscal year. Jenni.