Emergency department closures up in Nova Scotia
Posted Dec 22, 2016 06:09:27 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – ER’s in Nova Scotia hospitals were closed a combined total of 22,505 hours – or 938 days – between April of 2015 and March of 2016.
That according to a study released Tuesday by the provincial government, the Annual Accountability Report on Emergency Departments.
The report found unscheduled closures are down, but planned closures are up.
That’s being blamed on a lack of staff.
“We are working with the Nova Scotia Health Authority to address staffing challenges,” said Health Minister Leo Glavine.
Glavine added the government is looking to create collaborative health care teams “that can address people’s needs before they need to visit the emergency room.”
Highlighting the problems are four emergency departments that are closed overnight: Fishermen’s Memorial in Lunenburg, Musquodoboit Valley Memorial, New Waterford Consolidated and Northside General in Sydney.
“We have a crisis in care and the Premier wants to put a bandaid on it,” said PC Health Critic Chris d’Entremont in a release. “Communities around the province are crying for a real plan to address doctor recruitment and retention, but all they get are statistics and broken political promises.”
Scheduled closures made up about 10,000 hours of closures three years ago. That number is now over 17,000 hours.
