The president of Doctors Nova Scotia, the group that speaks for physicians in the province, told a legislature committee on Tuesday that virtual care is "a Band-Aid solution" to the growing number of people without regular access to a primary care team. Dr. Colin Audain said Virtual Care NS and Maple, the private company that provides basic care through a computer or mobile device, was not the answer to the problem — though he acknowledged it was better than nothing.

Hour 1: Dr. Colin Audain, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, joins Todd to discuss the MD shortage.

A Halifax-area walk-in clinic that's set to close permanently this weekend could no longer keep up with the increasing demand for health care without putting patient safety at risk, according to a physician who has a family practice on site.

Tacoma Family Medicine in Dartmouth posted a notice this week saying its walk-in clinical service will end Sunday, dealing a blow to the growing number of residents who still do not have access to a family doctor or primary care.

Patients of a health-care facility in Dartmouth, N.S., are scrambling to find other options as a family practice in the area announced it will be permanently closing the doors to its walk-in clinic. 

In a sign posted outside of the building’s entrance, Tacoma Family Medicine announced the clinic will cease operations at the top of next week.

Dr. Leisha Hawker didn’t intend to speak as a witness at the standing committee on health in Halifax on Tuesday.

Jackie Van Amburg works in the provincial government and commutes through the Scotia Square mall in downtown Halifax nearly every day.