One of the most significant barriers to reproductive health equity in Nova Scotia is the cost of contraception, and universal access is needed. That was one of the messages repeated during Tuesday’s meeting of the Nova Scotia Standing Committee on Health, which focused on access to birth control and sexual health services. “Providing free contraception […]
Is it time for more nurses in schools?
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Nova Scotia has a long history of school nurses. But their role has decreased as schools turn to other health professionals. And in the midst of a pandemic, that may be a problem. “Nurses have this ability to to look at the individual child — […]
In the midst of a crisis over policing, Halifax’s police commission has cancelled its scheduled meetings and is declining to accept public input
I've got 99 problems; Microsoft Teams ain’t one of them.
In the midst of sustained protests about policing, and facing increasing questioning about their role and responsibilities, the Board of Police Commissioners cancelled their meeting planned for today. Members of the Board indicated to Harry Critchley that the reason for the cancellation was that not everybody on the Board was set up to use Microsoft […]
Baby on board! Pregnancy and birth in the age of coronavirus
Lack of pre-natal and delivery supports and concerns about social isolation worry those who are pregnant and at home with babies.
The Halifax Examiner is providing all COVID-19 coverage for free. Martha Miller is 32 weeks pregnant and at home with her two-year-old son in Cole Harbour. She hasn’t seen her doctor in three weeks, even though she’s supposed to have a doctor visit every two weeks now. An appointment she had this past week for […]
A case of gangrene raises health concerns at the East Coast Forensic Hospital
People in the mental health community who are close to family members of a 45-year-old man are speaking out after the man was admitted to hospital with gangrene in his stomach. The patient, who lives with schizophrenia, has been in and out of the East Coast Forensic Hospital for the past 20 years. Family members […]
Sexual assault in prison: vulnerable women prisoners have few protections and face reprisal for reporting attacks
On May 22, three women incarcerated at the Nova Institution for Women federal prison filed civil suits against the Attorney General of Canada, alleging they were each sexually assaulted by correctional officer Brian Wilson over the course of the past five years. The allegations included in the lawsuits are harrowing: when the first of the […]
Nurse: We should support prisoners’ demands for better health care
"There have been claims that health care is better at Burnside than outside. This is simply not true."
Martha Paynter is a nurse, nursing PhD student, and director of Women’s Wellness Within. On August 21, the prisoners at the Burnside provincial jail launched a peaceful protest, in solidarity with a large prisoner strike in the United States, to call for basic improvements in health care, rehabilitation, exercise, visits, clothing, food, air quality and […]