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

The unusual advertisement in the Friday morning newspaper caught the eyes of many Nova Scotians. It tells the story of a 96-year-old woman who is "of sound mind and body" for her age, and who doesn't want to be "a burden to the healthcare system."

Her biggest concern? She doesn't have a family doctor. 

"I am apparently somewhere in the 80,000's in the physician waiting list, and so time is increasingly of the essence," the ad reads. 

Dorothy Lamont wrote that ad, using the title "Seeking a Physician" — a last-ditch effort to take matters into her own hands after three years without a family doctor. 

"I really didn't know what else to do," Lamont told CBC News in an interview at her home in downtown Dartmouth, N.S. "I should have a doctor. You know, at 96 years old, there's sure to be problems. But I have no one to turn to."

Lamont said in the past nine years, she has had five doctors, all of whom retired or left the city. This has left her with a virtual doctor that she says just isn't cutting it. 

"It doesn't make sense to me," she said. "And I'm sure there are many other seniors in the same situation as I am."

Though Lamont's tactic of advertising for a doctor is unique, her story isn't. 

An estimated 6.5 million Canadians don't have a family doctor. According to a recent Health Canada report, Canada needs nearly 23,000 additional family physicians to address the shortage.

In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston has campaigned on fixing health care and is aiming to slash the list of people waiting for a family doctor or nurse practitioner. The list has been shrinking, after it reached a peak of about 160,000 last June. 

Still, 91,474 people — or about 8.6 per cent of the province's population — were on the Need a Family Practice Registry as of May 1.

"I think for all folks that are dealing with complex health concerns or for the average person in Nova Scotia, we want to connect as many people as possible as quickly as possible to care," Bethany McCormick, Nova Scotia Health's vice-president of operations for the northern zone, said in an interview Tuesday.

Lamont, a retired Grade 4 teacher, loves spending time outside tending to her tulips and large vegetable garden. She calls herself a "busy person" who used to be an avid reader before her eyesight deteriorated.

She has lived in Nova Scotia all her life, and says she remembers decades ago when doctors made house calls, and it seemed like most people had access to primary medical care.