Dartmouth walk-in clinic to close its doors Sunday

A Halifax-area walk-in clinic has announced it’s closing this week, dealing a blow to the growing number of residents who still do not have access to a family doctor or primary care.

Tacoma Family Medicine in Dartmouth has posted a notice saying its walk-in clinical service will end Sunday.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Tacoma Family Medicine’s walk-in clinic,” reads the brief notice, which was making the rounds Tuesday on social media. “For any required followup, the clinic will contact the patient directly.”

No one from the clinic was immediately available for comment. The notice does not mention any changes to the clinic’s family physician practice.

Record number of Nova Scotians on registry

The planned closure comes amid a provincewide health-care crisis that has seen the number of Nova Scotians registered to find a family doctor balloon to 156,000 as of March — the highest it’s been. 

Lineups outside walk-in clinics in below-freezing temperatures were commonplace over the winter in the Halifax Regional Municipality as people tried to find care.

News of the Tacoma walk-in closure was met with disappointment online. A number of social media posts noted how busy the clinic usually appeared and questioned where people will go after Sunday.

“Clinics closing, just what we need around here,” someone posted on Reddit.

Closure will be felt by community, says NDP leader

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said in an interview the closure reinforces the need for the government to put more energy and resources into making primary care accessible.

“People need a ‘health home.’ They need a place that they can call, that has their file, that can follow them, that can help them with things like referrals or chronic conditions,” said Chender, the MLA for Dartmouth South.

She said the loss of the walk-in clinic will be felt by her constituents. 

“That walk-in clinic, in particular, has been the thing that people turn to for as long as I can remember,” she said.

The province has said challenges facing the health-care system vary across communities, but a growing population and the closure of practices are key parts of the problem.

Premier Tim Houston said in recent weeks that the government continues to focus on expanding virtual care in addition to the creation of mobile clinics that travel the province and primary-care clinics based in pharmacies.