A group of medical professionals are calling for changes to the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s governance model.
“The big reason that we came up with this governance specific paper was to try and dissect, or tease apart the current structure because it seems large, cumbersome and unresponsive, especially for a province of this size,” said Dr. John Ross, a professor at Dalhousie University.
Their latest paper is meant to raise questions surrounding exactly who is in charge, who makes decisions and how, and who has “bottom-line” responsibility.
READ MORE: Physician shortages topic of debate at Nova Scotia Health Authority annual meeting
They’re also raising alarm bells surrounding what they say is a lack of acknowledgement surrounding some of the biggest issues facing the province’s health care system including what they say is a “dangerous shortage of healthcare services and healthcare providers’ and ‘serious overcrowding in hospitals.”
Ross said they’re also troubled by NSHA bylaws which prohibit health care providers from being involved in governance and on the board of directors.
“We appear to be an outlier if you look at many jurisdictions, especially ones that are really effective,” Ross said.
“The Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, are all very efficient, effective healthcare organizations and they have a big distribution of active health care providers. As does the IWK, which is right down the street.”
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In an emailed statement to Global News, Nova Scotia Health Minister Randy Delorey said he would rather meet with the group of representatives about their concerns before responding publicly.
“As minister I appreciate feedback on, and suggestions for improvement of, the management of our health care system,” he said in a statement.
“Health care is a complex and complicated system with a lot of competing interests, requiring continuous improvements. I appreciate receiving these recommendations and will consider them as we continue our work to improve Nova Scotia’s health care system. I hope to meet with this group – as I am with other health care professionals – to hear their concerns and ideas for improvements directly.”
Dr. Jeanne Ferguson, Dr. Ajantha Jayabarathan, Dr. Robert Martel, Dr. Allan S. MacDonald, Dr. John Sullivan, Dr. Paul Van Boxel and former Nova Scotia deputy minister of health Kevin McNamara are also part of the group.
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