Nova Scotia creates website to disclose health-care data

It will report updated wait-lists for family doctors and long-term care, as well as physician recruitment figures, hospital occupancy, ambulance offload times and more

CITYnews halifax \ Canadian Press

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HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s health minister says the province’s new website for reporting health data will hold the government accountable for making health system improvements. 

Michelle Thompson launched the new online portal Friday, saying it will report updated wait-lists for family doctors and long-term care, as well as physician recruitment figures, hospital occupancy, ambulance offload times and more.

Thompson says change won’t happen overnight, but she hopes that sharing these details will ensure that improvements happen in “the areas most important to Nova Scotians.”

The new website follows introduction of the government’s plan for improving health care, released in April.

That plan was criticized by opposition parties for lacking details and specific targets.

A statement from the Health Department says some information, including emergency room visits and hospital occupancy percentages, will be updated daily.

The department says other categories will be updated as data is made available, though it did specify how often.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press