People in some northern Nova Scotia communities say they’re worried about losing access to health care as a pilot program that offers rides to appointments is coming to an end on Dec. 1.
For three years now, the Northern Zone Transportation Pilot has helped people in East Hants, Colchester, Cumberland and Pictou counties get to non-urgent health-care appointments.
It’s offered through Nova Scotia Health and was intended to help improve access to care.
News that the rides won’t be available after this month is concerning to patients like Wanda Tingley, who has a traumatic brain injury and requires many doctors’ appointments that have her travelling from her home in Lantz, N.S. to the city.
“To take a cab from here to Halifax for my head treatment is $123 one way,” said Tingley. “I’m 65 years old on old age security.”
Tingley points out there are no public transit options in the area. When the program began in 2023, she says she used it “pretty much almost daily.” Now, she depends on it a couple of times a week.
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“I do have medical appointments in December, but I’ll have to cancel them,” she said.
Andrew Doughty, the owner of Handy Cabs, has been working under the program to drive patients to medical appointments. He estimates his company makes 250 trips a month.
“We’re picking up people that physically can’t get to the hospital, whether it’s for financial reasons. We’ve got people that can’t drive, that aren’t legally allowed to drive anymore,” he said.
“There’s been customers I’ve picked up that haven’t even been into the city for 20 years and they’re going in for cancer treatment.”
Those patients are now calling him and wondering what the change will mean.
“We’ve got people calling and they’re like, ‘What do I do now?’ And I literally don’t have an answer,” he said.
The service was offered through federal and provincial support.
In a statement, Nova Scotia Health said that “between exhausting federal funds and the complexities of rural, non-medical transportation, the program quickly became unsustainable.”
Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin said the service is vital for rural communities and she wants to see it reinstated.
“Most people in our area, there’s a lot of seniors, there’s high incidence of people with disabilities. Poverty is a real thing and cancellation of this program will mean people will not be able to access health care,” she said.
“It’s the wrong decision and on behalf of all of the people, I’m calling on the premier to reverse this decision immediately.”
Nova Scotia Health says it is reaching out to impacted patients to inform them of alternative transportation options.
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