N.S. health minister not ruling out expanded use of family practice anesthetists

Health Minister Michelle Thompson is not ruling out the expanded use of family practice anesthetists in Nova Scotia, but she cannot say when it might happen.

"I know it's taking time, but I would rather do it right and make sure that we learn everything there is to learn so if and when we scale across the province, we have all the information we need to do it well," the minister told reporters following a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

A family practice anesthesiologist, or FPA, is a family doctor with additional training and certification in anesthesia. They provide general and local anesthesia for non-complex cases that don't require a subspecialist.

Although the role has been used for years in other parts of the country, including Ontario and British Columbia, it's been a slow process bringing it here. In March, a two-month trial at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital used two FPAs to help expand capacity at the hospital's surgical department.

Positive reviews for pilot project

A surgeon in Yarmouth said the role helped ensure doctors were able to do elective surgeries and emergency work without worrying about whether there were enough people on site to provide anesthesia service for both.

Yarmouth, like some other regional hospitals, has struggled to maintain a full complement of Royal College anesthesiologists in the face of a national shortage. FPAs have been viewed by some people as a way to enhance services.

Thompson said officials need to be certain there's "an ecosystem around both the physicians and the patients to ensure that we do it well" before an expanded use of FPAs could go ahead.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill, the MLA for Yarmouth, said efforts were being made when he was health minister to introduce the role in the province. He said there was support from surgeons and officials at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia.

'Seems incredibly obvious'

If the government doesn't act soon, Churchill said any momentum from the pilot project last spring could be lost as people look to take their skills elsewhere.

"Not only will we be potentially losing a really valuable service to get our surgery wait times reduced, but we also might lose people that are being family doctors," he told reporters on Thursday.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it doesn't make sense for the government to go so slow introducing a role that's been used for years in other parts of the country, especially when it can enhance service availability.

"I think it's disappointing that this government of action that's supposed to be fixing health care is not doing something which, on the face of it, seems incredibly obvious."