Collaborative Emergency Centres Provide Better Care, Sooner for Nova Scotians

NOTE: The following is an op-ed from Premier Darrell Dexter.

For years chronic emergency room closures across the province left Nova Scotians and health-care workers frustrated by the failure of previous governments to ensure basic emergency services.

While in Opposition, I said the province must keep emergency rooms open. I am pleased to say this government is keeping that commitment through its Better Care Sooner plan.

As part of that plan, the Department of Health and Wellness, working with the Cumberland District Health Authority, opened the first collaborative emergency centre (CEC) in Canada. This CEC was designed with the help of Dr. John Ross, a trusted and respected emergency room doctor, in response to chronic closures of emergency rooms.

During the premiers' conference in Vancouver last month, my provincial and territorial colleagues were interested in how the Parrsboro CEC was going to work.

I told them these centres, staffed by health-care professionals, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, will ensure Nova Scotians have access to the help they need, when and where they need it.

In smaller communities, people may wait weeks to see a doctor or other health-care provider. For a parent with a sick child, or a senior whose condition worsens as they wait, this is unacceptable. In these situations, an emergency room was their only choice.

The CEC will provide the same- or next-day medical appointments in these communities. It will provide patients access to a collaborative group of health-care professionals so people receive the right care and they receive it sooner.

By providing same- or next-day appointments, the CEC also shortens waits in the emergency room for patients in need of emergency care. We will keep the Parrsboro CEC open, ensuring a nurse and paramedic are available at night to provide appropriate emergency services.

I am pleased to report that the province plans to open three more CECs across the province in the near future and another four next year.

I made a commitment to Nova Scotians in 2009 that this government would fix the problem of chronic emergency room closures. The province's new collaborative emergency centres will do just that. It's another way the province is working hard to make life better for families.