'Get this fixed': N.S. premier's message to health-care partners with system under strain

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and his health minister met with medical leaders Tuesday afternoon to tackle the multitude of problems plaguing the health-care system.

While the premier told reporters the so-called “health partners summit” had been called a few weeks ago, he said the focus was on addressing the current health-care crisis.

“This is a meeting that has been in the works for a little while, but certainly the events over the last week or so have put a new sense of urgency [on it],” said Houston.

“Just to get all the people that have an impact on how health care is managed in the same room, so we can all talk about the same sense of urgency that we feel,” he said.

“Basically my message to all the leaders here today was just, ‘go like hell, just go, get going to get this fixed.’” added Houston.

The meeting comes less than a week after two Nova Scotia families spoke out about loved ones dying after waiting in two separate emergency departments.

The families of both Allison Holthoff and Charlene Snow blame the lack of timely care for their deaths last month, just a day apart.

After the summit, Houston assured Nova Scotians his government will share as much information out of reviews into those deaths as possible.

“We’ll disclose what we can, for sure, we want to know too, I want to know as premier,” he said.

Various health-care partners were part of Tuesday’s summit, including labour unions.

Hugh Gillis, 1st vice-president of the Nova Scotia General Employees Union (NSGEU), says he was tasked with giving a message to the premier from nurses represented by the union at the Halifax Infirmary.

“Nurses care about their patients, and when you have so many working short-staffed, it’s hard for the nurses to be able to spend that time and they feel very guilty about not being able to spend the time with [patients],” Gillis told reporters.

Hugh Gillis of the NSGEU speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s Health Partners Summit in Halifax on Jan. 17, 2023. (Heidi Petracek/CTV)

Gillis said the nurses explained the tough psychological toll on them at a union meeting in December, and also presented him with their recommendations.

“It’s working conditions,” he said, “they have 59 solutions, and the letter was written and sent to the CEO of Nova Scotia Health, they’ve acknowledged the letter, and now we’re waiting for a response,” he added.

The president of the Nova Scotia Nurses Union said she was glad to see government working with health-care groups.

“It was always ‘us’ and ‘them’,” said Janet Hazelton. “There’s no time for ‘us’ and ‘them’ anymore, what we need is all us. We owe that to Nova Scotians,” she said.

“We can’t have people thinking that our health-care system is not there for them, because for the most part, it is,” said Hazelton.

Hazelton also pointed to tough conditions faced by health-care staff, including 24-hour shifts and violence on the job.

“It is not okay that nurses are getting accosted in parking lots, that’s not okay, what are we going to do to stop that?” she asked.

“What I heard today was willingness for partners in the system to work together in a way that I’ve not seen before,” added the CEO of Doctors Nova Scotia, Nancy MacCready-Williams.

“There’s a tremendous amount of care needed in this province,” said MacCready-Williams. “It’s going to take some coordination and collaboration to sort out how we do this well.”

Meanwhile, opposition politicians who observed the news conference after the meeting remained skeptical.

“Because of some of the negative stories that have been coming out lately, we see a premier call a summit, and then invite the media here, and then, of course, it’s short on details,” said Brendan Maguire, Liberal opposition shadow minister of health.

“And I find it disingenuous that we’re suddenly having a summit and announcements when these are all well-recognized issues,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender.

The province’s health-care system continues to be strained, with overcrowded emergency departments, long wait times, and 130,000 Nova Scotians registered as in need of a family physician.

Wednesday morning, Michelle Thompson, the province’s health and wellness minister, is set to announce ER improvements, with few other details released in advance.