About 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are still looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner. (Communications Nova Scotia)

More people are dropping off the Need a Family Practice Registry in Nova Scotia.

According to numbers released Tuesday by Nova Scotia Health, 9,200 people either found a doctor in the past month or were removed from the list. 

Just over 110,000 Nova Scotians are still looking for a primary care provider. That’s down from more than 119,670 on Dec. 4. About 10.5 per cent of the population does not have reliable access to primary care.

Nova Scotia Health officials have been contacting people on the list to confirm they still need a doctor or nurse practitioner. 

Health officials stopped providing breakdowns by region last summer. The last update in June showed that about 10 per cent of Queens County residents were still looking for a doctor or nurse practitioner. 

The next update is planned for early February.

A second water main break at the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre has left the hospital without running water. (Wikipedia)

Nova Scotia’s biggest hospital has no running water for a second day in a row, as a second water main break occurred at the Halifax Infirmary overnight Wednesday.

That means the Infirmary, Veterans Memorial Building, Abbie J. Lane and the power plant have no running water for flushing toilets or drinking. 

It’s affecting services at multiple sites at the QEII Health Sciences Centre complex and beyond. 

Patients with surgeries at the Infirmary, the Victoria General and Dartmouth General hospitals may have their procedures rescheduled. Nova Scotia Health says emergency and time-sensitive surgeries will go ahead.

Outpatient blood collection at the Infirmary site is closed for Thursday. Patients can go to the Bayers Road blood collection facility.

The Infirmary’s emergency department is open but patients are being asked to visit another site if their issue isn’t an emergency.

Nova Scotia Health says patients with other scheduled appointments Thursday will be contacted to relocate, reschedule or offer a virtual option. And visitors and support people for patients at the Halifax Infirmary site will be limited.

Officials are working on the problem. Portable hand-washing stations and portable washrooms are available. And bottled water is on site.

Workers with Nova Scotia Health had been fixing the original water main break in the steam plant on Wednesday, when the second one occurred.