From releases issued by the N.S. Liberal Party:
HALIFAX: The following are bills introduced by the N.S. Liberal Party during the legislature sitting. They are aimed at improving healthcare in the province.
The Nova Scotia Liberals tabled three bills aimed at improving the state and delivery of care in the province. Areas of
healthcare addressed will be long term care, doctor recruitment, and women’s health.
An Act to Reinstate Doctor Recruitment Incentives for the Central Zone will bring back an incentive to attract physicians to the province’s Central Zone. This incentive was removed in March 2022 and led to people without a doctor in the area increasing by over 200 per cent.
The re-introduction of this bill will make the region more attractive for prospective primary care providers to help with the family doctor waitlist.
Currently N.S. is the only Atlantic Province without a family doctor incentive in the capital region.
An Act to Expand the Scope of Registered Nurses in Long Term Care will allow these RNs to be able to prescribe medication for non-complex ailments.
This process is currently available in acute care and the expansion of this service into long term care will allow RNs to utilize their full scope and get patients the medication they need in shorter amounts of time.
An Act to Introduce a Women’s Health Graduate Scholarship will expand provincial graduate scholarships to include those studying women’s health.
This bill identifies critical areas for women’s research and provides capital to support that research with a goal to improve the diagnosis and treatment of women’s health issues.
An Act to Extend the Primary Care Physician Incentive Program
WHEREAS the former physician incentive programs in place in Nova Scotia were available to physicians in both rural and urban areas and across all Nova Scotia Health Authority management zones;
AND WHEREAS the new Primary Care Physician Incentive Program is only available to physicians who establish a practice outside the Authority’s Central Zone;
AND WHEREAS the number of people on the wait-list for a primary care practitioner continues to grow much faster in the Central Zone compared to the other management zones;
THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Primary Care Physician Incentive Program Extension
Act.
2 In this Act,
(a) “management zone” means a management zone established under the Health
Authorities Act;
(b) “Nova Scotia Health Authority” means the provincial health authority estab-
lished under the Health Authorities Act.
3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister of Health and Wellness shall extend the
Primary Care Physician Incentive Program so that it is available to physicians in all four Nova
Scotia Health Authority management zones, including the Central Zone, who wish to establish a
family practice.
(2) The money required for the purpose of this Section must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.
An Act to Amend Chapter 8 of the Acts of 2019, the Nursing Act, Respecting Scope of Practice in Long-term Care
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 Chapter 8 of the Acts of 2019, the Nursing Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 174, the following Section:
174A (1) In this Section, “non-complex ailment” includes topical wound care, shingles and urinary tract infections.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 174, the scope of practice for a registered nurse or a nurse practitioner practising in a long-term care facility includes prescribing medications for non-complex ailments for a resident of the facility.
An Act to Provide Graduate Scholarships for Research that Benefits Women’s Health:
WHEREAS women’s health has been under-diagnosed and under-treated;
AND WHEREAS government-funded scholarships can bring important research and
awareness to women’s health;
THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Women’s Health Graduate Scholarships Act.
2 In this Act
(a) “graduate program” means a program in a recognized university that offers a masters or doctorate degree;
(b) “Minister” means the Minister of Advanced Education.
3 The Minister shall create priority areas for research into women’s health that focus on the diagnosis, treatment and awareness of key health issues affecting women.
4 Subject to Section 5, the Minister shall expand the provincial graduate scholarship program for students in graduate programs that address a priority area identified under Section 3.
5 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.
