South Dartmouth clinics ‘in good stead’ to absorb new patients, doctor says
The number of Nova Scotians in need of a family doctor is falling across the province, but with more than 400 new units recently under construction permits in South Dartmouth, there are questions about how much capacity neighbourhood clinics can absorb. A doctor at a new turn-key clinic in Alderney Landing says Dartmouth is prepared for new patients.
“The turn-key clinics have been really good at helping to attract physicians from other countries or provinces,” says Dr. Alison Wiebe, who works out of the Alderney Health Home clinic that moved to its new location under this new model in May. “They just walk in, everything’s provided, and then if it isn’t a match for them, they can walk out.”
Wiebe says eight family doctors and two nurse practitioners moved into the clinic when it opened, but it’s already expanding. The clinic is adding three new family doctors — in August, late fall, and February 2027. Each is expected to take on between 1,300 and 1,350 patients. That’s roughly 4,000 new patient spots opening in the next eight months, says Wiebe.
“I think Dartmouth is in good stead,” she says.
There are 1,861 Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice registry in Dartmouth/Southeastern community health network, says Keith Corcoran, a representative for NS Health. He says planning for primary care services is a continuous process but did not point to any specific plans to provide medical services to new residents of Dartmouth South.
The province’s Need a Family Practice Registry peaked in June 2024 when CBC reported more than 160,000 Nova Scotians were without a family doctor, about 16.2 per cent of the population. There were 60,193 people on the registry on May 1.