Restoring 24/7 service remains the goal for Middleton emergency department

Chris Bradley attended a public meeting on Monday about the future of the emergency department at Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Middleton, N.S., expecting bad news.

He was pleased to be corrected.

"It was very promising to hear that they are committed to getting it open 24/7," the Middleton resident said in an interview.

"And I know it's going to take a long time and they were clear about that, but it's good to know that there is a positive future."

Bradley was one of about 60 people who attended the public meeting at the local fire hall. Officials with Nova Scotia Health held three such meetings on Monday.

Since June, the emergency department has been reduced to operating each day from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. because there are not enough doctors to staff it longer than that. The decision allowed for consistent hours, while reflecting the level of service the existing complement of doctors could provide.

And while some rural communities in other parts of the province are seeing their emergency departments downgraded to urgent treatment centres, Nova Scotia Health officials said Monday that would not be happening in Middleton at Soldiers Memorial.

Tanya Nixon, vice-president of operations for the western zone, said the large number of people in the area without a family doctor and a variety of other factors, including patient volume and proximity to regional hospitals, goes into the approach they're using in Middleton.

"There's a great deal of people in this community that are unattached and they need a ready access point," she said in an interview.

"The physicians in this area are committed to an emergency room and if we can augment from a recruitment perspective, that model makes the most sense to us."

Other treatment options

While the recruitment effort continues, people attending the meeting heard about several measures intended to provide more access to services for people in need.

Along with virtual health services, a mobile primary care clinic is being dedicated to Middleton on Tuesdays and Sundays this month. The nearby communities of Greenwood and Berwick were among the initial 12 sites announced for primary care pharmacy clinics that opened this month.

Because about 60 per cent of the people presenting at the emergency department are looking to get treatment for aches and pains, coughs or have a prescription refilled, Nixon said officials are hoping these new access points will help address community need until the emergency department can be fully staffed again.

Several people at the meeting asked about the number of people in the area without a family doctor and how many it would take to address that need. This part of Annapolis County has about 5,000 people in need of a primary care provider, a number that would take about four family doctors to address.

Officials said they're also looking at the potential of bringing other services to the area, such as the virtual emergency program being piloted at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital. Physician assistants could also be added to the site's staffing ranks, although they would need a doctor who could supervise them.

Annapolis MLA Carman Kerr said the information he heard on Monday was promising, but he wants to know that the provincial strategic plan can be applied to the local needs in Middleton.

He also wants to see as many pilot projects as possible brought in to help the community.

"We just want to know that everything's been tried, everything's been exhausted," he said.

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