Health Transformation Hub

Direct to Triage

• Paramedics are a vital part of our health care system, and we need to make sure their time is spent responding to emergencies.
• The Direct to Triage initiative at hospital emergency departments (EDs) will get paramedics and ambulances back on the road faster so they can respond to emergency calls sooner. Paramedics will continue to wait with high-risk patients, such as patients with suspected stroke, chest pain or other potentially life-threatening injuries, and children under 16, among others.
• This is one of several initiatives designed to reduce pressure on the Emergency Health Services (EHS) system, improve ambulance offload times and improve working conditions for paramedics.

Medical Communications Centre Nurse

• We have added a nurse to the EHS Medical Communications Centre to help callers who do not require an ambulance. This new role will focus on non-emergency and non-life-threatening calls, so paramedics can focus on emergencies.
• This role benefits patients and the health system, as callers do not need to leave their home and spend time waiting in a crowded ED for assessment and care.
• Nova Scotia will be the only province to have a paramedic specialist, a nurse and a doctor in the medical communications centre providing help to operators, paramedics and callers. This is part of a system-wide focus to provide the right resource, to the right patient, at the right time.

New Ambulance Fleet

• In an emergency, patients and paramedics want high-quality ambulances that are well-equipped and safe.
• This new fleet of ambulances, and response and transport vehicles, ensures the right mix of resources to improve emergency care and relieve pressure on paramedics and the emergency health system.
• The new ambulances were designed with input from paramedics to ensure they are ergonomic for increased efficiency and safety.

EHS is working to provide the care Nova Scotians need in an appropriate and timely manner. We are working seamlessly across organizational boundaries to provide the care patients need and deserve by:

• Reconfiguring emergency and transfer system areas to optimize efficiency, quality and safety of emergency services.
• Avoiding unnecessary hospital visits by providing more care options for low-acuity patients who call 911.

Direct to Triage

Direct to Triage is a process for non-emergency issues that do not require a paramedic to remain with a patient once they are transported to hospital. The policy allows paramedics to transfer patients who do not require immediate, urgent care to the ED triage for assessment by hospital staff, rather than waiting in offload. Hospital staff will then follow internal processes to determine the most appropriate pathway for the patient.

Medical Communications Centre Nurse (MCCN)

The development and implementation of the MCCN position is part of the broader redesign of EHS Operations. Our goal is to provide Nova Scotians with better access to safe and quality emergency and non-emergency medical services that are more cost efficient and will provide a positive impact on patient flow within IWK Health and Nova Scotia Health.

New Ambulance Fleet

The province signed a 10-year contract with Tri-Star Industries in Yarmouth to lease 146 new ambulances, as well as a fleet of patient transfer units and single-paramedic response units. The mix of vehicles in the EHS fleet is in line with recommendations made by Fitch and Associates, which reviewed Nova Scotia’s emergency medical services model in 2019.

Executive Lead

• Jeff Fraser, Executive Director, Emergency Health Services Branch

Contact

• Emergency Health Services