Nova Scotia women describe harrowing experiences trying to access medical care

HALIFAX — A Halifax woman with gynecological problems has been told she could wait up to five years to see a specialist even though she has been bleeding for the past 131 days.

Haley Smith is 36 years old and has fibroids, cysts and adenomyosis. During a news conference held by the Nova Scotia NDP on Wednesday, she was emotional as she shared her story alongside two other Nova Scotia women who described their struggles accessing timely medical care.

“For the past 131 days, I’ve been feeling lost, alone, unheard and frustrated. For 131 days, I have been experiencing prolonged bleeding while being told that what I’m going through is somehow normal,” she said.

The Opposition NDP highlighted Smith’s experience and other similar cases in support of proposed legislation to improve access to health care and oversight.

Smith, who works in health care, said she felt heartbroken to learn the expected wait time to see a gynecologist would be between four and five years. She said she hopes to become a mother, and she’s concerned about how her health conditions may affect fertility.

“Building a family has always been something I’ve dreamt of, but now that dream feels uncertain and out of my control,” she said.

Smith said eight years ago she lived in Ontario and sought care for her condition there. She said it took six months to see a gynecologist and nine months to get surgery.

“I’ve considered going back to Ontario due to this situation, because being a mother is my goal,” Smith said through tears. “And I know I’m not the only woman experiencing this. I just hope that change is coming.”

Another speaker, Donna Manning, shared details of her experience waiting for 16 hours in an emergency room, before a doctor told her to return in two weeks if her symptoms persisted.

“They took me into an exam room then asked me to wait while they got someone to change the bed cover to a clean one. They stepped out of the room, looked up and down the hallway, came back inside, closed the door, and said: ‘I guess we’ll have to make do,’” Manning said.

“So I laid down on the dirty bed to be examined,” she added.

Kelly Jacques, who has endometriosis and adenomyosis, told reporters she was told to expect a three- or four-year wait before she would be able to consult a specialist about her painful condition.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender told reporters her party would force a debate in the Nova Scotia legislature on three NDP bills aimed at improving the province’s health-care system.

If passed, one of the bills would require the government to draft a plan with measurable targets to reduce wait times in emergency rooms. The party has also tabled legislation for free access to birth control, hormone therapy and a round of in vitro fertilization, as well as a bill that would reinstate an independent board to oversee health decisions and spending.

“The stories we hear are harrowing. We know that people need a clear understanding of how government is going to change this trend,” Chender said.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson said the province is taking women’s health seriously and is working on improving access to vital care.

“We are building the system. We don’t want people to wait that long,” Thompson told reporters Wednesday.

Thompson said there are more gynecologists working in Nova Scotia now than when government came to power in 2021, but she did not specify how many net new positions have been added to the system.

When asked if the province needs to hire more gynecologists to deal with lengthy wait times like Smith is facing, Thompson said that’s something “we are hoping to get clarity on.”

Thompson shared updates Monday on the province’s plans to open a menopause health clinic and create a group that includes clinical health-care workers who will “develop a road map for a more co-ordinated, efficient and sustainable women’s health system.”

She said that group, called a women’s health clinical collaborative, will evaluate needs in women’s health, including staffing levels for gynecology.

“I have to leave that up to the experts. We’re going to have oversight at the department … make sure that folks are talking and working together,” Thompson said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press