Hospitals, Nursing Homes Receive Medical Equipment

HEALTH -Hospitals, Nursing Homes Receive Medical Equipment

Hospitals and nursing homes across the province will benefit from $15 million worth of new medical equipment, including patient lifts to help nurses, Health Minister Jamie Muir announced today.

The funding, made available by the federal government, will be used to replace aging diagnostic and other equipment.

"Patients and nursing home residents in every district will benefit," said Mr. Muir. "The new equipment will improve overall patient care and provide better working conditions for nurses and other health-care professionals."

Selection of the new medical equipment was based on priorities submitted by the hospitals and nursing homes. It includes specialized x-ray, ultrasound and anaesthesia-monitoring equipment.

The new equipment will increase capability of early diagnosis, provide options for less invasive surgery and reduce the costs of maintaining the existing older equipment.

CT scanners will also be replaced and upgraded, with a portion of the funding coming from volunteer foundations.

"I am pleased that the volunteer foundations are continuing to cost-share the funding for the CT scanners," said the minister. "Their past, present and future commitment to funding medical equipment and co-ordinating many other initiatives is vital to our health care system."

Two-million dollars of the funding will be used to purchase electric beds and patient lifts. This is part of a provincial workplace initiative that was created to improve working conditions for nurses and other health-care professionals.

"This equipment, compared to most other equipment is inexpensive, but its value to nurses is tremendous," said Barb Oke, Provincial Nursing Policy Advisor. "It will help improve their quality of life at work, as well as the comfort and care of their patients."

The entire $15 million will replace equipment that has a direct impact on patients. For example, the IWK Grace Health Centre is replacing a 12-year-old anaesthesia monitoring machine. The anaesthesia equipment serves about 10,000 patients a year. St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish County is replacing a 16-year-old piece of x-ray equipment that serves more than 24,000 patients a year.

The department's criteria for allocating the funds was need, equity, efficiency, health benefits and at the same time respecting the priorities identified by the facilities.

The federal government made the $15 million commitment last September to support agreements by First Ministers on Health Renewal and Early Childhood Development. The federal government has committed an additional $15 million for new medical equipment to be purchased next year.

NOTE TO EDITORS: A backgrounder is available, detailing the equipment going to each facility, plus other information: please e-mail: <[email protected].>