Opposition takes aim at province after patient dies at hospital with no doctor on site

Nova Scotia's opposition parties are calling for the Houston government to make better "choices" after a patient at a hospital in Middleton, N.S., died while the on-call doctor wasn't on site.

Staff at Soldiers Memorial Hospital called 911 last Thursday after the patient went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics and volunteer firefighters performed CPR when they arrived but the patient didn't survive.

Calling 911 is the normal protocol at community hospitals when the on-call doctor is off-site, according to Darlene Davis, interim executive director of rural and community health for the health authority's western zone.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said if that's the case, the system has failed.

"So if you ask anyone across this province, 'should this be a normal occurrence in our health-care system?' They would say 'no.' And so if it is, that's a problem," she said.

Chender offered her condolences to the family and called the circumstances "unbelievably tragic."

The emergency department at Soldiers Memorial has operated on reduced hours for the last year because of a lack of doctors. Nova Scotia Health officials say it would take five to seven doctors to restore 24/7 service.

"Governing is about choices," Chender said. "But I think this community has been very clear. And now it has suffered an avoidable tragedy that proves the case that attention needs to be paid to Soldiers Memorial Hospital and to keeping the emergency room open there."

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said he was shocked by the news as well.

"This does seem to be extraordinary," he said. "I've never heard of volunteer firefighters being called to a hospital before to provide health care.

"And this is a direct result of the Houston government shutting down emergency rooms in the Valley. This is a clear indication that there's not emergency services available for people in those rural areas when they need them."

Premier Tim Houston previously told CBC News that he was awaiting further information about the case.

"We know there are challenges in the health-care system," he said. "We know there's a lot of work to do and nobody wants to hear about adverse outcomes. It's a heartbreaking story."

'Every hospital works a little bit differently'

But calling 911 when patients inside a hospital need care is not as extraordinary as it seems, according to the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia, Dr. Colin Audain.

He said he's fully up to speed on what happened and why, and offered his condolences to the family. He added that he isn't fully aware of what the normal procedure would be for each hospital.

"Every hospital works a little bit differently," he said. "I work in a tertiary care centre where we have the benefit of residents and our emergency departments are open 24 hours a day. That's not always the case in every hospital.

"The health-care system right now is under a lot of strain and I think everybody's doing the best they can with limited resources."

Audain said he doesn't have all the context but said it's common — even in a busy hospital such as the Victoria General — for health officials to call 911 in certain circumstances.

"If someone [had a heart attack] in the cafeteria, then that's the pathway to get the best care for that patient because the VG doesn't have an emergency department."