HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s auditor general says the province does not have a plan to meet national wait times for elective surgeries such as hip and knee replacement.
In his first report as auditor general, Michael Pickup says only 43 per cent of knee replacements and 58 per cent of hip replacements met a six-month national benchmark last year – the lowest rates in the country.
The report says wait list delays happen because some surgeons do not submit patient booking information in a timely manner, with nearly 25 per cent of the submissions a week late.
Pickup also found that opportunities to carry out surgeries were lost because operating room time is not used to its potential.
His report also detected security problems with the software system used for records at the Department of Community Services.
It says Pickup’s office was able to gain access to sensitive personal information including detailed case notes, names of children taken into care and financial information.
Adviser to fix school board governance problems
Education minister Karen Casey says she will send an adviser to work with the Tri-County Regional School Board to solve governance and accountability problems highlighted in Pickup’s report.
Pickup says the board that serves Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne counties is not addressing poor student achievement, especially in math and reading.
Casey says she will choose a ministerial adviser to work with the board to improve oversight.
She says improvements are expected over the next six months and the adviser will be required to provide her with monthly progress reports.
Pickup says the 6,100 students under the board’s jurisdiction have some of the poorest literacy and numeracy results in the province.
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