(January 13, 2023, St. John’s) – David Brazil, PC Official Opposition Leader and MHA for Conception Bay East-Bell Island, today is reacting to the latest data published by the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA) indicating that 136,000 people in our province are now without a family doctor.

Over 10,000 people have lost access to their family doctor since the last survey the NLMA conducted during the spring of 2022.

“The Premier says he is ‘hopeful’ the family doctor crisis will improve in Newfoundland and Labrador. Hope is not a strategy. What the Premier lacks is a plan. While he disputes the numbers brought forward by the NLMA, the list of people without a family doctor continues to grow,” said Brazil.

“The family doctor crisis keeps getting worse under this Liberal government. There hasn’t been any demonstrated success in tackling this crisis and people are running out of patience. How bad does this crisis have to get until the Liberal government finally acknowledges that what they are doing isn’t working?”

According to the NLMA, the number of people without a family doctor in our province has increased by 36% since 2021.

“While this impacts every region of the province, rural areas have seen the biggest impact. This government needs to set targets, get its act together, and show the people of our province how they will meet these targets for attracting and retaining family physicians,” says Brazil.

“It doesn’t matter if the list of those without a family doctor has grown by one person or one thousand people – the fact is the people of our province need help to resolve our healthcare crisis. We need an attractive workplace, a manageable work-life balance for professionals, and we need a plan to ensure everyone who calls our province home can have access to a primary care provider.”

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca