'Seeking a Physician': 96 and doctorless, N.S. senior turns to the classifieds

Nicola Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The antithetic advertisement successful the Friday greeting paper caught the eyes of galore Nova Scotians. It tells the communicative of a 96-year-old pistillate who is "of dependable caput and body" for her age, and who doesn't privation to beryllium "a load to the healthcare system."

Her biggest concern? She doesn't person a household doctor. 

"I americium seemingly determination successful the 80,000's successful the doc waiting list, and truthful clip is progressively of the essence," the advertisement reads. 

Dorothy Lamont wrote that ad, utilizing the title "Seeking a Physician" — a last-ditch effort to instrumentality matters into her ain hands aft 3 years without a household doctor. 

"I truly didn't cognize what other to do," Lamont told CBC News successful an interrogation at her location successful downtown Dartmouth, N.S. "I should person a doctor. You know, astatine 96 years old, there's definite to beryllium problems. But I person nary 1 to crook to."

Lamont said successful the past 9 years, she has had 5 doctors, each of whom retired oregon near the city. This has near her with a virtual doc that she says conscionable isn't cutting it. 

"It doesn't marque consciousness to me," she said. "And I'm definite determination are galore different seniors successful the aforesaid concern arsenic I am."

Though Lamont's maneuver of advertizing for a doc is unique, her communicative isn't. 

An estimated 6.5 cardinal Canadians don't person a household doctor. According to a caller Health Canada report, Canada needs astir 23,000 further household physicians to code the shortage.

In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston has campaigned connected fixing wellness attraction and is aiming to slash the database of radical waiting for a household doc oregon caregiver practitioner. The database has been shrinking, aft it reached a highest of astir 160,000 last June. 

Still, 91,474 people — oregon astir 8.6 per cent of the province's colonisation — were connected the Need a Family Practice Registry arsenic of May 1.

"I deliberation for each folks that are dealing with analyzable wellness concerns oregon for the mean idiosyncratic successful Nova Scotia, we privation to link arsenic galore radical arsenic imaginable arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable to care," Bethany McCormick, Nova Scotia Health's vice-president of operations for the bluish zone, said successful an interrogation Tuesday.

• Are you having a hard clip uncovering a household doc oregon navigating the healthcare system? We privation to perceive your story. Send an email to [email protected]. 

'At 96, I deliberation you merit a spot better'

Lamont, a retired Grade 4 teacher, loves spending clip extracurricular tending to her tulips and ample rootlike garden. She calls herself a "busy person" who utilized to beryllium an avid scholar earlier her eyesight deteriorated.

She has lived successful Nova Scotia each her life, and says she remembers decades agone erstwhile doctors made location calls, and it seemed similar astir radical had entree to superior aesculapian care. 

Her son, Stewart Lamont, is besides without a household doctor. He said his parent had a wellness scare past twelvemonth and helium spent hours with her successful the exigency department. When she was yet discharged, determination was nary followup due to the fact that she had nary doc to nonstop the record to. 

He said his parent isn't aggravated with the authorities and isn't trying to beryllium political. What she is doing is lasting up for herself and different seniors successful akin situations. 

"We respect our seniors, we effort to look aft them. At 96, I deliberation you merit a spot better," he said. "I'm conscionable arrogant of her that … she is inactive consenting to marque a nationalist statement."

The provincial Department of Health and Wellness declined an interrogation petition for Health Minister Michelle Thompson, and directed the petition to the Nova Scotia wellness authority. 

McCormick, from Nova Scotia Health, said she can't sermon Lamont's lawsuit owed to diligent confidentiality, but she urges anyone without a doc to marque definite their accusation is up to day connected the registry, due to the fact that the database is triaged. Patients connected the registry capable retired a wellness questionnaire and a wellness complexity people is created for them.

"It tells america astir their benignant of concerns and radical that person chronic conditions oregon much analyzable health-care needs, possibly a caller emerging issue," McCormick said. "We bash usage that arsenic a mode to deliberation astir who needs continuous attraction and transportation to a household signifier sooner."

McCormick said she has ne'er heard of idiosyncratic putting an advertisement successful the insubstantial looking for a doctor. 

"I deliberation that idiosyncratic is trying to advocator for their health-care needs, which I deliberation is important."

A astonishment call

Stewart Lamont said helium received a telephone from a Nova Scotia Health worker connected Friday afternoon, aft the advertisement ran successful the newspaper, saying his mother's accusation wasn't filled retired decently connected the registry and would present beryllium added.

They called backmost Monday greeting and said they were moving to find her a doctor. 

Then Monday afternoon, a Dartmouth aesculapian session called and said a caller doc moving to the state to take implicit from 1 of her former physicians who retired years agone tin instrumentality her connected arsenic a diligent successful the adjacent fewer months. 

CBC News contacted the clinic, who said the doc is connected abrogation and unavailable to comment. 

Dorothy Lamont said she is optimistic, but is near with 1 thought. 

"I would similar each our seniors to beryllium capable to person a doc to spell to, not conscionable maine due to the fact that I enactment the advertisement in."