New website allows Nova Scotians to track provincial health-care data
The Nova Scotia government has launched a new website that allows people to track the province’s health-care data.
The province says the Action for Health website is the first if its kind in Canada.
“We don't believe there's any other jurisdiction in the country that's sharing this level of data,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson.
The data had previously been available internally, but will now be shared publicly on a regular basis.
“The health-care system is publicly funded and the public has a right to know and to hold us accountable too,” said Dr. Kirk Magee.
The site will share daily metrics, such as the number of emergency department visits and hospital occupancy percentages.
The province says other metrics, such as ambulance offload times and doctor recruitment numbers, will be updated regularly as data becomes available.
“One thing that it highlights is, something we already knew, is primary care is severely lacking and it's the foundation of a strong health-care system,” said Dr. Leisha Hawker with Doctors Nova Scotia.
While Doctors Nova Scotia applauds the province for its transparency, the association is also calling for a primary care task force.
“Where all stakeholders involved in primary action would come together to look at an evidence-based and shared vision for long-term primary care transformation in Nova Scotia,” said Hawker.
Progress on the province’s four-year plan to improve health care is also available on the website.
"Our healthcare system is complex, and pressure in one part of the system impacts all the others," said Thompson in a news release Friday.
"Change won't happen overnight. But by sharing this information now, we are holding ourselves accountable to make sure change happens and the system improves in the areas most important to Nova Scotians."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.