Tim Houston Premier of Nova Scotia

My motto for healthcare – and my message to leaders in the sector – is more, faster.

Do more. Go faster. That’s what Nova Scotians deserve.

We knew fixing healthcare wasn’t going to be easy and that it wouldn’t happen overnight, but that didn’t stop us. People are right to expect their leaders to run towards the big challenges, not away from them.

As the year closes, I’m excited to share some of the progress we’ve made.

People tell me every day that we should hire more doctors and nurses. Unfortunately, a global shortage of healthcare providers and excessive red tape have made that easier said than done. But in the past year, our government has made recruiting much easier.

The Patient Access to Care Act is making it quicker for healthcare providers to practise here. It means less red tape and faster licensing.

Since passing this law in the spring, we’ve had over 19,000 nurses apply to work here!

We also signed new labour agreements with doctors, nurses, paramedics and health administrators, making our province an even more attractive place to work.

And we’re training more. We’ve created new nursing programs, invested in a new medical school in Cape Breton and increased medical residency spaces.

We’ve increased access points – new and growing family clinics, virtual care for everyone, mobile clinics and pharmacy clinics across the province mean Nova Scotians have more ways to get care n ...

To view the full story, you must be a subscriber. Click here for information on how to subscribe.

 

Tags: