The North Queens Fire Association bought a new rescue truck in December 2023 to respond to medical emergencies and other calls. (North Queens Fire Association Facebook page)

The fire chief in North Queens wants answers about why his department isn’t being called to more medical emergencies in the community.

Chris Wolfe, who leads the volunteer-run North Queens Fire Association in Caledonia, says he’s worried that residents aren’t getting the help they need and someone could die because of it.

“We’re supposed to get called for pretty well anything that the ambulance will come out to North Queens for and that hasn’t been the case here lately,” he told QCCR.

“My concern is that the community’s not getting the help that they need when they need help the most. You take an ambulance takes an hour basically get to North Queens and even longer if you’re in a storm, so potentially somebody could be lying there for an hour without medical help.”

That’s why Wolfe has organized a public meeting on March 3 at 7 p.m. at the North Queens Fire Hall in Caledonia at 9793 Highway 8.

He’s invited officials from Emergency Medical Care and Emergency Health Services, as well as Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, and Health Minister Michelle Thompson. Wolfe is also encouraging residents to attend.

Wolfe expressed his frustration in a recent Facebook post. He also posted last August asking residents to contact him if they’ve called 911 in the past expecting the fire department to respond.

A post on the North Queens Fire Association Facebook page from Chief Chris Wolfe.

“I’ve previously had meetings with EMC and EHS and we’ve talked about it and I thought things were going to get straightened out but obviously they didn’t and we did have one particular call there the night before I posted that and the individual was lying outside in the snow and they weren’t going to page the fire department for it.

“We ended up going over on our own terms and dealing with it till EHS arrived so that was my pet peeve that sent me to put the post on Facebook.”

Emergency Health Services contracts out ambulance and paramedic service in Nova Scotia to Emergency Medical Care, which is owned by Medavie Blue Cross. EMC also operates the province’s 911 call centre.

EMC officials declined an interview request. A spokesman said in an emailed statement that they “are committed to continuing the conversation to address” the fire department’s concerns.

Wolfe said 18 of the first responders at his department are certified under the Medical First Response Program, which trains people to care for someone who is injured. He said they responded to 111 medical calls last year, which account for between 65 and 75 per cent of what they do.

But he said they could potentially respond to more calls and more quickly than EHS, if only they knew about them.

It’s a situation that rural fire departments are dealing with around the province, he says. 

“When you become an MFR agency you choose what level of response you want to be and where we’re so far from a hospital or anything like that we choose to be non-urgent and that means that we give anybody the help that needs it for any type of scenario.”

He says he’s not looking for a quick fix, but he hopes the meeting helps.

“I don’t expect everybody to come (to the meeting) with answers. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

“The purpose of the March 3rd meeting would be to get everybody there, address what the problems are, take everybody’s concerns from the public, put that all together and then go back to the drawing board and say, ‘Look we know this is what’s wrong, what options do we have to fix this, how can the volunteer fire service and MFRs help us out,’ and then maybe have another public meeting maybe three to four weeks later and come back to the drawing board and tell people what was found out and how things are going to be addressed.

“The more people that show up, the better it will be. And hopefully we can get things addressed and make things better for all of Nova Scotia.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Michelle Thompson, Nova Scotia’s health and wellness minister, is warning of a potential strike by more than 9,000 health-care workers. (Communications Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotia’s health minister is warning the province’s health authorities to prepare for a possible strike by more than 9,000 health-care workers.

Michelle Thompson wrote a letter to the CEOs of the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK Health Centre. She said the province is committed to reaching a settlement. 

Thompson said talks have been difficult but are continuing with the help of a conciliator.

“Each negotiated settlement and wage and benefit investment we have made has resulted in higher wages,” she wrote in the letter, released Tuesday by her department. 

“Once again significant wage increases are on the table. At the same time, we have to be mindful of the taxpayer and make sure that we only commit to what is affordable to taxpayers, now and into the future.”

The employees are represented by three different unions – the NSGEU, CUPE and Unifor. The unions are negotiating as one body under a council of health-care unions.

Members represent more than 170 occupations in the health-care system – including those working in diagnostic imaging and laboratory, mental health and addictions, cancer therapy, paramedics, and community health.

The unions say many employees are now the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada and are struggling with severe staffing shortages.

Thompson said in the letter that the government is focused on “tough but fair” bargaining. She said they want an agreement without a strike, but that the province’s finances are stretched. 

“The reality is that with a staggering provincial deficit, there is just no more to offer. We simply can’t sweeten the offer because the taxpayer is already stretched to their limit.”

In late July, Nova Scotia’s Finance Minister Allan MacMaster reported the province recorded a $143-million surplus on surging revenues. He said Nova Scotia brought in $1 billion more than expected last year.

This round of contract negotiations does not include doctors or nurses.

An X-ray technician is seen in this photo. X-ray reports will soon be available through the YourHealthNS app. (Communications Nova Scotia / File)

X-ray results will soon be available through the YourHealthNS app.

Nova Scotians will be able to see any X-rays done from July 15 onward. The results will be on the app 14 days after the scan.

The report includes findings from the X-ray, a comparison with any previous X-rays, the patient’s history and a summary. Images won’t be available.

“This is just the beginning as we plan to make more records and information available that will help Nova Scotians take a more active role in their health care, ” Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said Monday in a news release.

Earlier this month, the Nova Scotia government expanded access to health records through the app to everybody in the province 16 and over with a valid health card.

That was after a three-month pilot project involving more than 13,000 patients at six clinics, including Queens Family Health in Liverpool. 

The X-ray reports will be in addition to the other information available on the app, including lab and some test results, hospital and health visits, medications and immunizations.

More than 600,000 X-rays were performed in Nova Scotia in 2023.

Michelle Thompson, Nova Scotia’s health and wellness minister, announces at a news conference on Wednesday that the YourHealthNS app will be expanded to all Nova Scotians over 16. (Communications Nova Scotia via Zoom)

The Nova Scotia government is expanding access to a $15-million smartphone app that lets patients see their own medical records.

The government gave early access to 13,824 patients in six clinics around the province from January to April to the YourHealthNS app. One of those clinics was Queens Family Health in Liverpool.

After gathering feedback from users in the pilot, it announced Wednesday that anyone over 16 with a valid Nova Scotia health card can now download the app and access its features.

The biggest draw of the app is the ability for people to access their own medical records, prescriptions, lab and test results and immunizations. It also allows you to see your hospital, clinic or other medical appointments.

Patients can also schedule some appointments through the app.

Michelle Thompson is Nova Scotia’s health and wellness minister. She said the app helps give Nova Scotians control over their own health care.

“We started small with a test-and-try approach, but the results were huge,” Thompson said at a Wednesday news conference. “Those who used it liked it. It improved their health care experience, gave them more control over their care, but most importantly, it put health care back in their hands.

“You can now carry your medical history in your pocket wherever you go.”

Officials with Nova Scotia Health told reporters at a technical briefing that more than 300,000 Nova Scotians have already downloaded the app.

Of the pilot project participants, 98 per cent said they would continue to use the app, while 30 per cent said they felt they didn’t need to see their primary care provider because they had access to their records. 

Officials could not say how many people actually used the app. They said that because of privacy concerns, they did not track individual users and how they used the app. The information came from a voluntary feedback survey in the app. Officials did not know how many people responded to the survey.

“We know from our evaluation here but also from other jurisdictions around the world, this empowers patients,” said Dr. Aaron Smith, medical executive director, Northern Zone, and provincial medical executive director. 

“This allows patients to manage their own health. And the impact on providers is also profound. We know folks feel more engaged in their health, they better understand their health. It allows a significant numbers of folks to avoid unnecessary visits to both emergency department and primary care facilities. It allows physicians to really focus on what they need to do, which is care of acutely ill people.”

The YourHealthNS app has cost the government $15 million in total, with $2 million of that spent on the pilot project and another $3 million for the rollout to all of Nova Scotia.

Officials said Wednesday that protecting people’s privacy was one of their primary concerns.

“We are ensuring that people’s information is safe and citizens can see their own information and other than a few folks who will do audit functions to ensure everything is fine, there will be nobody else that can see that information,” Thompson said.

During the pilot phase, some participants in Queens County said that they either had no information available or the information they saw changed from day to day. Others said they could see all their records.

Scott McKenna, chief information officer for Nova Scotia Health, said that everybody should be able to see their health records now.

“Those are the lessons we’ve learned from the pilot. Now we’ve matched records a little bit differently, put some new algorithms in place to make sure we’re matching records based with a high level of confidence on health card number and date of birth. … Those individuals would see their health records now.” 

Thompson said she’s confident that people will see information that’s reliable and up to date.

“The point of a test and try is that we bring individuals into the pilot. We understand the technology, we understand the interface with the people who are using the technology and we build on their feedback and their experience.

“We’re very grateful to those initial pilot participants. It really gave us the opportunity to understand the app, build the app, get their feedback, see what the experience was and move on from there. And so I feel very confident in the team and their ability to continue to deliver the iterations of this app. And I do believe the app will be of huge benefit to Nova Scotians.”

More records like primary care visits with doctors, nurse practitioners or through pharmacy clinics will be added over the coming months, Thompson said, with the goal of having all of that information available by the end of September.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Low-income Nova Scotians being treated for cancer and dealing with hair loss can get a $300 rebate toward the cost of a wig. (Communications Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotians going through cancer treatment can be reimbursed $300 if they buy a wig to help deal with hair loss.

To be eligible, people must be a Nova Scotia resident with a valid health card, have a gross family income of $35,000 a year or less, be enrolled in the drug assistance for cancer patients program and have no private insurance that covers the cost of a wig.

“A cancer diagnosis is scary enough,” Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said in a news release Thursday.

““We want to give people some help to buy a wig if they choose and hopefully let them focus more of their energy on getting well.”

People can apply here: https://novascotia.ca/dhw/pharmacare/cancer-assistance.asp

The government estimates about 360 patients could be eligible for the one-time rebate, which will cost about $110,000.

The province also provides a rebate for mastectomy breast prostheses and two programs that support low-income cancer patients – the boarding, transportation and ostomy programs, and the drug assistance for cancer patients.

Licensed physiotherapists in Nova Scotia will soon be able to order X-rays. (Matias Maiztegui photo via Pixabay)

By Rick Conrad

Physiotherapists in Nova Scotia will soon be able to order X-rays.

Physiotherapists employed by Nova Scotia Health or IWK Health can already order the scans. But the province will expand that ability to those in private practice in early spring.

“Ensuring all physiotherapists can request necessary X-rays for their patients means more timely access to the care people need,” Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said Thursday in a news release. 

“This change will reduce unnecessary demands on family physicians, nurse practitioners, and emergency departments, and save patients and physiotherapists time.”

Physiotherapists must be in good standing with the Nova Scotia College of Physiotherapists to request an X-ray. 

Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health are working with the Nova Scotia College of Physiotherapists and the Nova Scotia Physiotherapy Association to get the practice up and running provincewide. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Health Minister Michelle Thompson (middle) addresses residents of Queens Feb 17, 2023. Photo Ed Halverson

People from across Queens gathered at the Best Western in Liverpool Friday to share their concerns about the health care system and hear what the province is doing to fix it.

Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson and representatives from across the health authority spent just over an hour answering questions from the public.

People wanted to know what’s being done to recruit more primary caregivers, how to reduce wait times, and if there are enough paramedics to answer their call in an emergency.

Minister Thompson says she welcomes the opportunity to speak directly to Nova Scotians about steps government is taking to tackle the healthcare crisis.

“Sometimes it’s hard for us to get our message out,” said Thompson. “It’s hard to get all of this information out past media cycle, we often live in soundbites and so to sit in community and hear directly and speak directly for two hours, I think is really meaningful for people.”

The minister went into detail about plans to recruit doctors from abroad and entice retired physicians back to practice.

Residents pose questions to Nova Scotia Health officials at the Queens Community Health Conversation on Feb 17 2023. Photo Ed Halverson

But she made it clear that across North America, systems are moving away from patients having a single-family doctor and moving to a collaborative team approach.

Thompson says that care team could consist of a nurse practitioner, a physiotherapist, a dietician, a pharmacist, or any other combination of healthcare professionals.

The point would be for your file to be with a clinic and when you sought treatment you would be triaged and directed to the appropriate caregiver.

This method would also allow your health record to stay within a practice so even if one of the members left, your record would be accessible, and you could still receive care.

Throughout the question-and-answer period the health minister hinted at new legislation that would be introduced during the upcoming sitting of the Legislature to remove obstacles from healthcare workers.

“Everything is focused right now on healthcare,” said Thompson. “There are barriers that sometimes we don’t always see, and we want to remove those.”

When pressed on which barriers her department would like to remove Thompson said, “How do we use people to the fullness of their scope? How do we ensure that there’s mobility so people can move into the province easily and making sure that we’ve modernized those systems.”

Thompson says how government will meet those goals will be revealed when the Legislature reconvenes March 21.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

Residents of Queens will have the chance to bring their healthcare concerns to those directly responsible when the department of Health and Wellness listening tour stops at the Best Western in Liverpool this month.

Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson, Deputy Minister Jeannine Lagassé and Nova Scotia Health interim CEO Karen Oldfield are holding conversations in communities across Nova Scotia about the work underway to improve the healthcare system.

In a release announcing the events the department of health and wellness says participants will be able to ask questions and hear directly from those responsible for making change happen.

The health department issued a release Tuesday announcing the Emergency Department at Queens General Hospital will be closed for most of the week leading up to the event.

The ED will close Tuesday and Wednesday night, February 7 and 8. It will close again for the weekend beginning Friday at 1:30pm reopening Sunday morning at 8am then closing again at 1:30pm Sunday until 8am Monday morning.

The department will close again Tuesday afternoon until the morning of Wednesday the 15^th.

Anyone wishing to attend the community engagement session will need to register in advance.

Those who can’t be there in person can forward questions that will be discussed at the event by submitting them through the online registration link.

The listening tour will be held at the Best Western in Liverpool on Friday February 17 from 1:00 until 3:00pm.

To register for the Community Health Conversations event follow this link.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

The Government of Nova Scotia announced several initiatives to reduce wait times and improve emergency care at hospitals across the province.

At a press conference Monday, Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said the initiative focuses on two areas: improving emergency room care and safety and moving lower acuity patients away from the emergency room to appropriate health providers.

Several actions announced to get patients in most urgent need faster care include:
— having teams led by doctors focus on getting patients out of ambulances and into the emergency department faster
— assigning physician assistants and nurse practitioners to provide care in emergency departments
— adding care providers and patient advocates to support patients in waiting rooms
— making virtual care available to more patients with less urgent needs
— providing healthcare teams with real-time data on where beds are available across the system and what tests or other actions are needed to get patients well and home more quickly; this will free up beds for others.

Health officials are aiming to redirect patients with less severe or immediate health concerns away from emergency departments.

The actions being taken to give people more places to receive care, reducing pressure on emergency care, include:
–support for new and existing collaborative family medicine practices so they can see more patients
— expanding services in more pharmacies
— adding hours for virtual care appointments and enabling out-of-province doctors who are licensed here to offer virtual care
— providing more mobile primary care, mobile respiratory care clinics and urgent treatment centres
— making available a new phone app, known as a digital front door, that will help people find the right services for their needs and where they’re offered.

Some of those actions such as adding care providers and patient advocates to patient waiting rooms will be implemented almost immediately while others will be phased in as resources and capacity become available.

While the new actions include many new supports for patients and caregivers there was little talk about how to keep healthcare workers from leaving those jobs.

Minister Thompson says the newly announced initiatives will make for a better work environment and her department is still listening to front-line workers.

“Nova Scotia Health has also started stay interviews about what are the things that support people in staying and we do hear suggestions directly from frontline workers about different initiatives that would help them stay,” said Thompson. “So those are the things that are undertaken, again, we know there’s more to do and we are committed to working with health care providers to support their environment.”

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) represents many of the people working in healthcare in the province.

In a statement issued after the announcement the union’ 1^st Vice President Hugh Gillis says one of the key issues members have outlined is the inability to retain skilled, experienced nursing staff in the ED.

“Today’s announcement does not address that concern,” said Gillis, “The employer must provide incentives that will allow them to effectively keep experienced health care professionals in areas of high turnover and specialized need, such as the emergency department.”

Gillis says his members are glad to see some of the 59 suggestions they provided to government were included in the announcement but there is still more to do.

Government officials say they are open to any good ideas that will improve healthcare for Nova Scotians and will continue to listen.

Despite the struggles facing emergency departments across the province, Minister Thompson says if people are in immediate need of medical attention they should go and get the treatment they need.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Dr. Robert Strang provides COVID-19 update with Premier Tim Houston and Health Minister Michelle Thompson. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s phase 5 reopening plan will see social distancing and gathering limits lifted for businesses but will require healthcare workers and school employees to be vaccinated.

If those employees aren’t vaccinated by November 30, they could be put on unpaid administrative leave and could eventually be fired.

In the technical briefing ahead of Wednesday’s COVID update, Dr. Robert Strang stressed the importance of vaccination.

“If you’re caring for somebody, whether it’s in a hospital [or] long-term care facility. If you’re teaching somebody, who, because of their age can’t be vaccinated, you have an obligation to get vaccinated so you can do your job safely,” said Strang.

Beginning Monday October 4, anyone wishing to enter a non-essential business or activity will need to show proof of vaccination.

Those include full-service restaurants and bars, gyms or indoor sporting events.

People will not be asked to show proof of vaccination at essential services such as retail stores, banks, hair salons, doctor’s offices, hotels or faith services.

For a complete list of where proof of vaccination will or won’t be required, follow this link.

When asked if requiring proof of vaccination to fully participate in the reopening was a way to encourage more people to get vaccinated Strang says that is not the intent of the regulations, but is a welcome side-effect.

“Right now the way we look after each other or the main way in a pandemic, is to get vaccinated because that protects everyone else around us. I’m sorry if people don’t like that but you have an obligation to care for your neighbour. Care for the healthcare worker who’s going to be there for you if you get sick,” said Strang. “I won’t apologize for having to take these strong measures to get to the level of safety that we need to have.”

Nova Scotians who received their vaccinations in the province can obtain a copy of their record digitally by visiting the Nova Scotia government coronavirus web page.

That record will be updated October 4 to include a QR code.

Businesses will be able to download an app on October 22, which will read the code and simply show a green check or red X to indicate if a person is vaccinated without revealing any further personal information.

At Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, Premier Tim Houston took a decidedly different tone from past efforts to convince Nova Scotians to get vaccinated.

Premier Tim Houston. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

After thanking the majority of Nova Scotians who have been vaccinated, Houston spoke to some of the 60,000 who are eligible but have yet to get their shots.

“Some of you don’t want to and I also know that you want to convince me that there is a reason not to get vaccinated. But let me be very clear, I don’t agree with you,” said Houston. “No matter how many YouTube videos or conspiracy theories from so-called experts that you send to me, we will not agree. Getting vaccinated is important. For the sake of those around you, please, please, get vaccinated.”

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
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