The Mayor of Shelburne is continuing to push the province for answers to rural healthcare problems.
Karen Mattatall says one of her latest concerns is that a new collaborative health centre scheduled to open this fall won’t have walk-in patients.
She says there is a level of frustration and concern in the town that those currently without a family doctor will be left high and dry.
“The reality is, unless it has doctors and services in it, it’s just a building. A building by itself does not provide access to service.”
The centre is expected to open this fall, and will be staffed initially by a family collaborative practice team, including four doctors, two nurse practitioners and two family practice nurses.
The team is now working out of Roseway Hospital.
Karen Mattatall wonders if the new clinic will have a negative effect on after-hours service at the hospital.
“That’s a huge concern, because the ER is closed so much now. If we had that service totally removed from Roseway Hospital, it would be devastating.”
The Nova Scotia Health Authority says the Shelburne family practice team is accepting people who are pregnant, or who are 6 years-old or younger, as new patients, and they expect to be able to increase the number of patients over time as they add staff.
Meanwhile, the NSHA will host a community discussion on family practice teams in Shelburne on June 14th.
