The Nova Scotia Health Authority is currently addressing the issue of long emergency department wait times and believes that even if wait times do not decrease, new measures should improve the patient experience in the emergency department.

One of these measures is the Rapid Assessment Zone, which includes a second waiting room connected to the emergency room where several patients can be treated at the same time.

Patients who are able to move independently and whose medical care is relatively less urgent and complex are sent to these zones. They can access private rooms if necessary, but must return to the zone’s waiting room between examinations and diagnostic imaging or laboratory results.

The model allows doctors to spend time with multiple patients rather than treating them one at a time. Traditionally, a patient who gets a private room stays there until they are discharged, and the next patient cannot see a doctor until the room is available.

The emergency departments at Colchester East Hants Health Centre and South Shore Regional Hospital were given rapid assessment zones earlier this year, and Aberdeen Hospital is getting one this month.

The Halifax Infirmary and Valley Regional Hospital have had rapid assessment zones for several years.

“We’re seeing some really good successes,” said Tanya Penney, executive director of emergency care priorities at Nova Scotia Health.

Tanya Penney, senior director of emergency care at Nova Scotia Health, says the health authority is tackling the problem of long wait times in emergency rooms from several angles. (CBC)

She could not immediately provide data to support these successes, but said the literature on rapid assessment zones used across North America shows what a difference the fast-track option can make for patients.

She said other hospitals have seen a 30 to 50 percent reduction in the number of patients leaving the emergency department without being examined by introducing rapid screening zones.

Penney said most rapid screening zones in Nova Scotia operate 12 to 16 hours a day, during times when emergency departments typically see the most patients requiring this type of care.

17 hours of waiting with sick baby

When Amber Clark heard about the upcoming changes at her nearest emergency room, she was intrigued. She recently had to wait 17 hours at Aberdeen before she could see a doctor.

Amber Clark and her son Sawyer arrived at Aberdeen’s emergency room at noon one day last month and didn’t see a doctor until 5 a.m. the next day. (Amber Clark)

Clark said her 10-month-old son, Sawyer, had a fever and chest tightness. She said a week passed and his symptoms worsened, so she called 811, Nova Scotia’s non-emergency health hotline.

“They suggested the emergency room because he had concerns about his breathing,” she said.

“I packed a bag and thought, ‘Okay, let’s prepare for the worst case scenario…’ So I took enough milk and diapers and everything for eight hours and thought, ‘Okay, a sick baby is never going to be around that long, but let’s prepare.'”

Clark said they arrived at Aberdeen’s emergency room around noon and the hours flew by.

Stayed because of tragic history

She said she often considered leaving, especially because she ran out of milk and diapers in the middle of the night, but her thoughts kept returning to the story of a 6-year-old Dartmouth boy who died of invasive group A strep throat in March.

The boy had been sick for several days and had a fever and cough. His father said the family considered going to the emergency room but did not because they did not want to subject their son to what could be hours of waiting.

The child died in his sleep and was found by his parents the next morning.

Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow, NS, will be the fifth hospital in Nova Scotia to receive a rapid assessment zone. (Google Maps)

After the boy’s death, the father encouraged other parents to take their children to the doctor to be examined, no matter how long the wait would be.

“I stayed because the family talked about their tragedy,” Clark said. “That really touched me.”

Clark said Sawyer was finally seen by a doctor around 5 a.m. the day after she arrived and was diagnosed with bronchitis. She said he was treated with a steroid and sent home with a prescription for more medication to take at home.

Skeptical of promises of change

Clark had no complaints about the doctors at Aberdeen Hospital or the treatment Sawyer ultimately received, but she said the wait was awful and made her very skeptical of the government’s claim that it was focused on health care.

“We should be getting better at things and making improvements. I don’t see that happening,” Clark said.

“This is absolutely disgusting, a disgrace for health care.”

As for establishing a rapid assessment zone for Aberdeen, Clark said she would wait and see.

“I haven’t seen the changes yet, but it definitely piques my interest.”

Penney said emergency room wait times as long as Clark experienced are “too common.”

Penney said the health authority is looking at many different ways to move patients through the system more quickly. In addition to rapid assessment zones, she also pointed to the addition of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, patient advocates and waiting room attendants.

She said these things should at least make people in the waiting room more comfortable.

“We are really looking into these issues to make sure we reduce wait times for Nova Scotians.”

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