While tens of thousands of patients wait for their postponed elective surgeries to be rescheduled, Nova Scotia Health (NSH), which operates the acute care system, continues to struggle to find enough staff and beds to deal with the backlog. According to data from NSH, two months ago there were approximately 1,555 vacancies for registered nurses […]
NS budget: big spending on health care, new taxes on non-residents
The PCs got elected on a promise to “fix health care” and they warned it would be expensive. The operating budget for 2022-2023 predicts a deficit or shortfall of $506.2 million. Spending on health care has increased $413.4 million from last year to reach $5.7 billion. During last summer’s election campaign, Tim Houston said it […]
Home care in NS needs more funding, resources, and attention, CCPA-NS researcher says
A Nova Scotia researcher says the provincial government must do more to improve home care services in the province. “More and more people are calling for home care as an alternative to long term care, and yet we’re not seeing the funding and resources or even the media attention there,” Mary Jean Hande said in […]
Province to spend $96.5 million to renovate nursing homes, add new long-term care beds
Rankin: renovations to include replacing shared bathrooms, adding single rooms to add "greater focus on infection prevention and control."
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Please help us continue this coverage by subscribing. On Friday, Premier Iain Rankin announced plans to spend $96.5 million to renovate 17 long-term care facilities across the province and add 264 new nursing home beds in the long-term care homes in Nova Scotia Health’s Central […]
Commence Phase 2: waking up from COVID fatigue
Morning File, Wednesday, June 16, 2021
No excuse to skip the gym this morning, Halifax… News 1. COVID-19: the road to reopening continues Why not have a few friends over for dinner tonight? At 8 o’clock this morning, Nova Scotia moved into “Phase 2” of its reopening plan, easing some of the province’s current public health restrictions. The news was officially […]
Northwood Inquiry? No need. McNeil and Delorey have this. Uh…
Fifty-three residents died in Northwood's long-term care home during COVID-19. Long-term care residents accounted for 92 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in Nova Scotia. And yet the premier sees no need for a public inquiry, legislative oversight, legislation... anything. Does that make you feel better?
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Nothing to see here folks. Nothing to talk about. Nothing to know you need to know because… well, you know. And even if there was, we shouldn’t. We can’t. Know. You know… “Our committees unanimously voted to adjourn and suspend committee meetings,” explained the Explainer-in-Chief […]
Shiny budget surpluses versus investing in long-term care
Our current crisis in long-term care, now in the spotlight because of COVID-19, is the result of lots of choices governments have made. We need a public inquiry to hold them accountable, and to make sure our long-term care future is better than its past.
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Choices? Crushing health care unions versus investing in long-term care? Slashing $8 million from the provincial budget for grants to long-term health care facilities versus investing in long-term care? Boasting about shiny budget surpluses versus investing in long-term care? Cutting taxes for corporations versus investing...
Daily COVID-19 update: Three more Northwood residents have died from the disease
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Three new COVID-19-related deaths were announced by the province on Tuesday, all having occurred at Northwood long-term care home in Halifax. That brings the total number of deaths to 27. The province also announced 15 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing Nova Scotia’s total to […]
No “pandemic premium” for Nova Scotia health care workers
Ontario and Quebec have increased the pay for the continuing care assistants, nurses, and dietary and cleaning staff working in nursing homes during the COVID-19 crisis. It's a recognition that those workers are both needed and putting their own health at risk. But Premier Stephen McNeil has rejected calls to give this province's frontline workers similar recognition; in Nova Scotia, they'll continue on with the same low pay they've always received.
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Over the weekend, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that Ontario will pay “a pandemic premium” of $4 an hour to continuing care assistants (CCAs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), as well as dietary and cleaning staff who work in long-term care homes, group homes, home-care, and […]
Daily COVID-19 update: Northwood outlines its plan
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Forty-six new cases of COVID-19 were identified yesterday, the highest number since the pandemic arrived in mid-March. Thirty-six of the 46 cases are at Northwood’s Long-Term Care facility in Halifax. Nova Scotia now has a total of 721 confirmed cases. Twelve people are currently in […]