Nova Scotia Health plans to hire at least 13 nurse practitioners to provide “much-needed support” to long-term care facilities, the province announced Tuesday.
In a release, the province said it will invest $2.5 million for their hiring efforts. It said the new nurse practitioners will work with existing facility teams and family physicians to diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, prescribe medications and perform some medical procedures for residents.
It said they will work in multiple long-term care facilities, as well as serve people in the surrounding community who do not have a family doctor or access to a nurse practitioner.
“Older Nova Scotians deserve dignity and higher levels of care, and we can’t do that without a skilled workforce and facilities with the right staffing levels,” said Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care, in the release.
“This is only the first step of the hiring we need to do to fix healthcare for seniors and provide more care for thousands of people.”
The release said more nurse practitioners will relieve other pressures in the health-care and long-term-care systems, like reducing ambulance transfers, emergency room visits and long-term care admission delays.
The release added that there are currently 29 nurse practitioners working in long-term care in the province.