New mobile clinic aims to serve Nova Scotians in need of medical care

The mobile primary care clinic is seen set up in Sydney, N.S. in September.

A fifth-wheel trailer converted into a mobile health clinic is one of Nova Scotia’s latest attempts to bridge the gap in primary care services, according to the province.

The clinic, staffed by nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals, offers a combination of in-person and virtual treatment for ailments like flu or cold symptoms, rashes, muscle pain and urinary tract infections, says the province in a news release. People can visit the clinic to refill or renew prescriptions.

"The global shortage of health-care professionals requires that we look at non-traditional approaches for delivering health care,” said Michelle Thompson, minister of health and wellness, in the release.

While the province continues its efforts to recruit health-care workers, Thompson says the mobile clinic is a way to meet immediate health-care needs.

As of mid-October, more than 116,000 Nova Scotians were on the provincial physician waitlist.

The mobile clinic launched in September in Sydney, N.S., and served patients in the area after post-tropical storm Fiona. The province says 300 people used it.

This weekend, the clinic is set to be in Antigonish, N.S., where the province says it will focus on St. Francis Xavier University students, many of whom are not permanent residents. As a result, they can’t get on the physician waitlist, nor can they access virtual care through VirtualCareNS.

According to the province, the converted fifth-wheel includes the medical equipment needed to “quickly” set up a clinic anywhere in the province. But, it doesn’t have a lab or diagnostic imaging services like blood tests, MRIs or X-rays.

The province is urging anyone in need of emergency medical care to call 911 or go to their local emergency department.

The province says the clinic is a temporary service. To learn more, see when the clinic will be in your area, or register, visit the NSH website.