By the numbers: Nova Scotia getting 60 new and ‘strengthened’ clinics to bolster primary care

Nova Scotia is investing in 60 “new and strengthened clinics” to improve primary care access across the province. “New and strengthened clinics will mean patients who previously would have to use an emergency department or wait to see a healthcare professional at an existing location will be able to get better care, faster than ever before,” said Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson, in a press release. “This is just one of a series of efforts we are making to improve primary care for Nova Scotians.” Among the 60 will be “collaborative family practice teams, primary care clinics, after-hours clinics, urgent care centres and urgent treatment centres,” the province noted. Regarding collaborative family practice teams, eight new teams of at least three healthcare providers each will be formed. Currently, 95 such teams exist in the province, and the new initiative will also see 26 of them “strengthened” with more staff and some with renovations. “Central Zone will also be adding a Locum Team which will not be based in a clinic but will provide coverage for primary care practices in the area where needed,” read a fact sheet on the project. As for after-hours clinics, three currently exist, and require patients to book appointments and don’t allow walk-ins. The new initiative will strengthen one of the existing clinics with fresh funding and will establish two brand new such clinics. The province will also add one new urgent treatment centre to its existing seven, which provide care for non-life-threatening but unexpected health concerns and are open on weekdays, as well as some evenings and weekends. Meanwhile, urgent care centres will get a major boost with five new centres to be established, adding to the sole existing centre today. These centres provide urgent care mostly for attached (but some unattached) patients, and are formed through a group of local primary care practices. “These private practices work collectively to provide appointments for each other’s patients during evenings and weekends,” the fact sheet noted. Finally, the new funding will establish six new primary care clinics, which give by-appointment short-term primary medical care for Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice Registry. Today, the province has 15 such clinics, and 10 of them are set to be strengthened with more funding through the new initiative. “We are excited to see this investment in primary care,” said Dr. Maria Alexiadis, senior medical director for Primary Health Care and Chronic Disease Management Network with the Nova Scotia Health, in a release. “We know that these strengthened and expanded practices will provide better access for patients to receive care at all stages of life. It’s also an environment that will attract healthcare professionals, which is very important for recruitment.”

By the numbers: Nova Scotia getting 60 new and ‘strengthened’ clinics to bolster primary care

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