Nova Scotia is in a battle to recruit and retain health-care workers needed to sustain a system that has been under immense pressure over the past two years due to COVID-19.

Dr. Leisha Hawker, President Doctors Nova Scotia speaks about the doctor shortage.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston conceded Thursday things are likely to get worse for the health-care system before they improve. This comes days after Halifax's IWK Health Centre revealed its emergency department has been operating at overcapacity for the past six weeks, as it's seeing more patients than ever and it's anticipating it will get worse.

Nova Scotia needs to hire 100 doctors a year over the next 10 years, according to the province’s healthcare recruitment office. Community needs are evolving and doctors are retiring. Doctors Nova Scotia says its members have been under immense pressure for the past two years – constantly working and understaffed.

Nova Scotia’s health minister said Thursday a new pilot project that will permit some family doctors to be paid for the number of patients on their roster, not just for services provided, will help reduce the province’s nearly 95,000-person primary care wait list. 

We speak with Dr. Leisha Hawker is the President of Doctors Nova Scotia, to discuss the new payment model that family doctors are taking for a test drive, including at one family practice in Cheticamp.

Dr. Michel Chiasson is a family physician at the Cheticamp Medical Clinic. This is one of three test sites for the new blended capitation model to see whether a new payment model in Nova Scotia will pay off for doctors and patients.

We chat with Dr. Leisha Hawker, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, to get her thoughts on primary care reform, and discuss a new payment model for Nova Scotia doctors being tested this year.

Dr. Leisha Hawker had a busy first week as president of Doctors Nova Scotia. A family doctor based in Halifax, Hawker has been in practice for roughly a decade. She tells CityNews Halifax that over the years, she’s seen more and more of her colleagues struggling to keep up with the workload, something that hinders their ability to provide the high quality of care Nova Scotians deserve.

The Nova Scotia government is rolling out a pilot program to test a new way to pay family doctors, but opposition politicians are worried it doesn't go far enough fast enough. The government will use the blended capitation model until at least March 2023 to pay 19 doctors who work at three primary care clinics in Chéticamp, New Minas and Upper Tantallon. Three other clinics, which include an additional 30 doctors, could be added to the pilot.