Accountability Report in Emergency Health
OPINION
Today we released the Annual Accountability Report on Emergency Departments. The report shows what our healthcare professionals and many Nova Scotians already know — our emergency departments have been pushed to the limit.
Emergency department closures have been a serious issue for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic created more challenges, and they are now also dealing with an increase in other respiratory illnesses and responding to unprecedented population growth.
Closures, both planned and unplanned, continue in several communities across the province, and at emergency departments that are open, some patients wait too long for care. We don't want any Nova Scotian to think twice about seeking care, which is why we are working every day to address emergency department issues and many others needed to fix healthcare.
We took a big step forward by launching More, Faster: The Action for Health Build. This plan for hospital expansions includes new and improved emergency rooms and more than 400 new beds.
We are also expanding the network of urgent treatment centres across the province. Urgent treatment centres offer quick, convenient care for people with unexpected, non-life-threatening health concerns. It is a model that helps respond to community needs, is easier for healthcare staff to maintain and can help alleviate some of the pressure on our emergency rooms as they expand.
To address the pressures on our emergency departments and other areas, we need to retain our healthcare professionals and recruit more. Our healthcare professionals provide excellent care for Nova Scotians despite the challenges in the system and I thank them for their dedication and hard work.
Our Action for Health plan is focused on creating a better environment for everyone working in healthcare that is also attractive and welcoming for those who want to come here.
Some of the actions we have taken include: establishing a Nova Scotia residency stream to help internationally trained Nova Scotian doctors come home; guaranteeing all nurses who graduate in Nova Scotia a job; bringing mobile primary care clinics into communities where pressure is greatest; launching a recruitment campaign to attract healthcare professionals; and creating a team of navigators and doctors to connect healthcare professionals with the information they need to support their move to Nova Scotia.
We are also expanding virtual care and have made it available to everyone on the Need a Family Practice Registry. We are piloting VirtualEmergencyNS, which allows some patients to be seen virtually and receive care sooner, at three emergency departments across the province.
Nova Scotians deserve a healthcare system that is ready when they need it, responsive to their needs and offers reliable care they can count on. It will take time, effort and money, but we will continue to invest and work every day until this becomes the reality.
Michelle Thompson,
Minister of Health and Wellness
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