The stresses of the past two years have exposed shortcomings in healthcare systems internationally. As a result, investment is now coming in droves, with CBC reporting that Nova Scotia is set to borrow $1.8 billion to fund various healthcare projects – many of them in Halifax. CA. Big investments like these are not always forthcoming, and it’s a huge opportunity for healthcare providers and schemes all over the capital to change the face of medical care in the province – a sector which, historically, has come under huge pressure.
Fixing dental hygiene
One key area seeing action is dental care. In Canada and many other developed countries, dental care is, for some reason, not part of the healthcare package provided as part of state-run medicine. This is controversial; dental health is, of course, as much a part of being healthy as any other one factor. Having emergency dental provision forms a core part of insurance plans as a result; more often than not, this is essential given the lower overall contact rate with doctors for dental problems. This is set to change. According to the Halifax Examiner, the new health bill will change the state of dental care so that it becomes a mandatory part of health care, rather than an additional cost.
Addressing long covid
COVID-19 caused 41,000 deaths in Canada, and the long-term effects are still not well known. This is set to change, too, with new funding. According to the Government of Canada, new money is being allocated to researchers in Halifax to start addressing real long-term change caused by COVID-19. They will be given the remit of finding what the impact of the disease is, what unknown symptoms and problems could arise from not treating the long-term issues associated with long COVID, and how it will impact the future healthcare system of Canada.
Improving employment access
As well as improving how medicine is delivered, there is an acute need in Nova Scotia to improve the access and scale of healthcare provisions. There is a significant issue of ‘brain drain’ in the province and across Canada – too many professionals are leaving for internal private markets, external, high-paying jobs, or aren’t training at all. According to City News Everywhere, the latest tranche of nursing graduates have accepted jobs within the province – great news for hospitals and healthcare facilities across Nova Scotia and the wider country. There is a significant issue in terms of healthcare worker shortages, so the fact that the province is finally retaining talent means that some serious progress can start to be made.
This should come as positive news for most people. Building an effective healthcare system seems to be the priority of the government, both nationally and locally, and this will lead to a better healthcare situation for all. The face of Halifax healthcare is changing – for the better.