Masland: Liverpool ER closures ‘very concerning’, but ‘we are making progress’
Kim Masland, Queens MLA and Nova Scotia’s Public Works Minister, says chronic ER closures in her riding are worrisome. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Queens MLA Kim Masland says the Nova Scotia government is making progress in its efforts to keep the emergency department at Queens General Hospital open more often, but she admits there’s more work to do.
“I know right now we’ve been open pretty much 50 per cent of the time which is very, very concerning,” Masland said in an interview this week.
“We need to make sure that our ER is open and available to people when they need it. We’re 30 minutes away from Bridgewater, we’re further away to the next ER.”
She pointed to efforts by the Queens General Hospital Foundation and Nova Scotia Health recruiters to bring more health care workers to the area.
“We are making progress. We’ve recruited six (ER and family practice) doctors in the last year which is absolutely fabulous. But it’s a staffing issue. We need to make sure that we can recruit and then retain. So we’ll keep working at it.”
Masland and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston were asked about the ER closures during a Q&A session at an event in Liverpool on Wednesday organized by the South Queens Chamber of Commerce.
The ER in Liverpool was closed all last weekend. And this week, it is open most days only from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It will be closed all day Saturday. According to Nova Scotia Health, the ER was closed for part or all of the day for 13 days in November, 15 in December and 15 in January. A Nova Scotia Health official told QCCR in January that the Queens General ER needs 10 more nurses to be open more often.
Houston told the crowd Wednesday that the province has made many changes to how health care is delivered. He pointed to the expanded scope of practice for many health care workers, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners and others who are now able to do more of the duties once restricted to doctors.
“Our pharmacies did, since we started opening up this access path, almost 19,000 strep tests over the last three or four months. I can tell you where pretty much every one of those 19,000 people would have went if not for a pharmacy.
“So we’re really trying to mobilize everyone. … Then we can take a little bit of pressure off everyone else. And if we can take a little pressure off everyone else, then we can start to attract more people who want to be part of an innovative, leading edge health care system.”
Houston said that while there’s no quick fix, it’s important that people know that they don’t always have to wait in an ER for treatment.
“So we want to make sure that everyone knows where they can go to access the health care that they need. And it might be the emergency department and we want it to be open, but it doesn’t always have to be the emergency department for everything … when there’s something else that will work just as effectively.”
Masland says the province’s focus is on recruiting more health care professionals to the area.
“We’re very committed to improving health care and that’s where our focus is going to remain.”
Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com