Ten months since the creation of the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment, they feel they are making headway in improving the province’s ability to lure healthcare professionals to Nova Scotia.
Established in September by the Houston government, following his Speak up for Healthcare tour. it’s goal is to attract and keep doctors, nurses and other health providers. It is also working to eliminate barriers to recruitment and retention.
At a media presentation held Tuesday, Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson provided an update on recruitment and indicated that 163 physicians were recruited and started working across the province between April 2021 and March 2022.
“Today we want to celebrate our success and the momentum we’ve gained, this is the largest influx in the last three years and I think it shows our initiatives are working,” Thompson said.
The previous three years saw recruitment totals of 130, 128 and 127 physicians, respectively.
The new initiatives reffered to by the minister include;
- International recruitment mission to Scotland, Ireland and London underway to meet with physicians, nurses and continuing care assistants
- Come Home to Nova Scotia campaign launched in March to attract more doctors home to Nova Scotia
- International recruitment mission to Singapore, Dubai and London in March to meet with nurses, doctors and continuing care assistants interested in coming to Nova Scotia
- Budget increase of nearly $10 million for physician incentives; two new programs created in March to recruit new doctors and retain graduates
- A team of navigators established in January to connect doctors and other healthcare professionals with the information they need to support their move to Nova Scotia
- A broader recruitment campaign aimed at attracting healthcare professionals launched in December 2021.
Dr. Hadiza Babatolu is one of the 163 doctors that came in the last year, she is a family physician recruited from the United Kingdom and now practicing in Middle Sackville. At the media presentation, she explained the reason she came to Nova Scotia was “love”, explaining that her husband who is also a doctor had traveled to Canada many years ago and since then had pushed for them to move there. With many of the new efforts from the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment, she says she finally gave in to her husband’s wishes and says she has no regrets.
“Nova Scotia has been an incredibly welcoming place where our entire family has been made to feel like we are part of the community. I often tell friends and colleagues about Nova Scotia’s flexibility, culture of kindness and the amazing people we have met here. I am grateful for the support we have received from the medical – and larger – community.”
-Dr. Hadiza Babatolu
Of the new recruits, 75 are family doctors and 88 are specialists. Nova Scotia also lost 68 doctors for various reasons in the same period resulting in a net gain of 95.
Despite the marked improvement, the Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment knows they need to continue improving their recruitment.
Dr. Kevin Orrell, Deputy Minister, and CEO, Office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment said in his remarks during the presentation that they need to bring in 100 doctors for the next ten years if they are to improve health care services to the level Nova Scotians expect.
