Roughly 98,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador don’t have a family doctor – and the shortage is only getting worse
Bernie Leroux is mid-sentence when pain flashes across his face and his smile turns into a grimace. He stops talking, gets up out of his armchair and leaves the living room.
He has high-blood pressure, a racing heartbeat, inflammation in his lungs and he needs tests to examine the blood in his urine, he said. But until he can get an appointment to see a nurse practitioner, something that can take weeks, he can’t get a referral for a specialist who can help him.There are plenty of others like him in a province with the oldest population in Canada.
In communities across Newfoundland and Labrador, where they’ve been waiting years for things to improve, there’s skepticism the new measures will ease the pressure on an overburdened system. “I was told the blockages were so severe they should be done shortly. But I kept asking when, and they kept saying, ‘It’ll be done next week, in two weeks, or three weeks.’ And I kept waiting.”
He estimates the retention program will cost the municipality about $176,000 this fiscal year, and says it’s well worth it if lures more medical specialists to the town of about 6,600.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
American Airlines cancels hundreds of weekend flightsAmerican Airlines has canceled about 1,600 flights over the past three days, citing blustery conditions in Texas and a shortage of flight attendants.
Read more »
Man dies in Spain after being gored during a bull runDoctors couldn’t save 55-year-old man after he was gored in the leg during annual festival
Read more »
Zombie cop cars? Police apparently forced to un-retire Crown Vics due to chip shortageZombie cop cars? Police apparently forced to un-retire Crown Vics due to chip shortage — via drivingdotca Halloween
Read more »
Japan PM Kishida's coalition keeps majority with fewer seatsJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's governing coalition kept a majority in a parliamentary election Sunday but was expected to lose some seats in a setback for his weeks-old government grappling with a coronavirus-battered economy and regional security challenges, according to preliminary results.
Read more »