‘It’s just unacceptable’: N.S. man hasn’t had a family doctor in seven years

Michael Finley’s family doctor went on medical leave seven years ago and he has been without a family practitioner ever since.

“I called some doctors, but nobody was taking patients so I had to go through the form on the internet to find a family practitioner,” Shawna, Michael’s wife, said in an interview.

“After all these years, we’ve only ever received one notice and he still doesn’t have a doctor.”

And Michael Finley isn’t alone.

As of July 1, 152,001 Nova Scotians were on the Need a Family Practice Registry. That’s 15 per cent of the province’s population.

“To me, it’s just unacceptable,” said Shawna, who is worried about her husband’s health and well-being.

“He has high cholesterol and he’s supposed to be taking meds, but he doesn’t have a doctor to get them and he’s not going to sit at the hospital to get a prescription,” she said.

“To him, outpatients is for medical emergencies.”

Shawna said Michael, 63, also has a hernia and numbness in his arms but hasn’t seen a doctor for either of those conditions in the past seven years.

Michael also has blood in his urine. While he has a urologist, Shawna said they would like a second opinion since the urologist can’t “locate the problem.”

Shawna said her husband hasn’t done any virtual care calls or gone to a community pharmacy primary care clinic or emergency department since he lost his family doctor.

“And he’s not 23. He’s 63. He’s a really hard worker and if you’re working like that with medical issues, that’s stressful,” she said.

Shawna, who had a spontaneous coronary artery dissection and a heart attack last year, said they worry about the closest emergency departments to their home in Morden, Kings County in case they ever need them.

“After all these years, we’ve only ever received one notice and he still doesn’t have a doctor.”

– Shawna Finley

The emergency department at the Soldier’s Memorial Hospital in Middleton is often closed, while the Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville is more than half an hour away.

“We would like him to have a doctor before he has a heart attack or ends up paralyzed,” Shawna said.

“He could have a serious problem, but how would we know?”

According to the dashboard for Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice Registry, roughly 34 per cent of people on the list need a family practitioner because they are new to the area, followed by 24 per cent of people whose provider has moved or closed their practice.

The central zone saw an increase of 2,725 people added to the registry since June 1, while the eastern zone saw an increase of 25, the northern zone saw an increase of 479 and the western zone saw an increase of 339.