Nova Scotia Health announces more service reductions for hospitals as they struggle with high demand, staffing shortages

Hospitals in Nova Scotia continue to experience staffing shortages and high demand as the COVID-19 Omicron variant causes a spike in cases.

In a release from Nova Scotia Health (NSH), it says due to higher than normal emergency visits and demands for hospitals, including increasing COVID-19 related admissions and staffing pressures, hospitals are experiencing delays in care and ongoing service reductions.

The health authority says of Wednesday, there are approximately 600 staff and physicians off work due to COVID-19 infections, or the requirement to self-isolate due to close contact with a positive infection.

"At many hospitals, inpatient units are operating with reduced staffing levels and the demand for beds is exceeding the number of staffed beds available, with approximately 355 hospital beds in the province occupied by patients who are awaiting placement in a long-term care facility or housing through the Department of Community Services," read a release from NSH.

During Wednesday's COVID-19 news conference, Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said the acute care system is currently under extreme pressure.

"Nova Scotia Health has once again asked people to cancel their vacations but it's still not enough to relieve the stress on the system," said Strang. "Patient volumes are at a high, staff are seeing higher visit to emergency and experiencing delays in admitting patients."

NSH says the situation in hospitals is also having a significant impact on wait times, patient flow, and surgical care.

It adds inpatient beds at many hospitals have been closed due to staff availability, while emergency departments have opened overflow beds to manage high volumes of admitted patients.

"Approximately 120 scheduled surgeries and 30 endoscopy or gastroenterology procedures were postponed last week due to these challenges," wrote NSH. "Outpatient rehabilitation services were also temporarily reduced in Central Zone last week."

NSH says additional surgeries have been cancelled this week.

Also beginning Wednesday, the following additional service reductions have been introduced across the province to allow staff to be reassigned to help maintain inpatient, ICU, and emergency care:

• Surgical services have been further reduced, with only urgent and emergent surgeries, including time sensitive cancer surgeries, continuing at this time; and
• Ambulatory care clinics and procedures will focus on urgent needs only.

"Diagnostic imaging and laboratory services are continuing and will not be affected at this time," reads the release. "Patients whose procedures or appointments are delayed will be contacted directly."

NSH says longer than usual waits for care in emergency departments across Nova Scotia should be expected over the coming weeks.

The health authority is reminding Nova Scotians that they should not hesitate to visit their nearest emergency department in the case of an emergency.

"Emergency departments at regional hospitals and the QEII Health Sciences Centre are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week," wrote NSH.