|
The holiday season is one of my favourite times of the year – an opportunity to reflect on the successes and challenges of the year gone by, while looking ahead with hope and optimism for what the new year will hold.
In 2025, we continued to make strides across all zones to provide coordinated and integrated care for those who rely on us. Every day, we are getting closer to our goal of ensuring patients get timely access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time, delivered by the right provider – ultimately leading to improved outcomes for patients and better experiences for patients, families and healthcare professionals.
In early December, we had two days with zero patients waiting more than 48 hours to return to their home hospital or zone and none nearing that 48-hour window. This is a testament to the collaboration between zone leaders, staff and physicians, and our Access and Flow and Care Coordination Centre (C3) teams.
Digital technology and infrastructure initiatives are also pivotal to supporting timely, appropriate access to care. This December, the One Person One Record clinical information system (OPOR-CIS) launched at IWK Health, along with the provincial roll-out of the Novari Medical Imaging Requisition Management tool. This is a transformational moment for healthcare in our province. I am excited to see this integrated system roll out across Nova Scotia in 2026, along with continued advancements to YourHealthNS, enhanced referral and centralized booking models. It furthers our commitment to improving care, supporting physician teams and strengthening our work across the province.
Recruiting top talent to Nova Scotia is critical to our mandate and, I’m pleased to share, we’re continuing to move the needle on this front. We welcomed 216 physicians into practice between April 2025 to November 2025 (88 in Family Medicine and 128 in specialist roles), including eight at the IWK. Our Family Medicine physician recruitment numbers are up 12 per cent over last year and we aren’t slowing down, as we rise to meet the needs of the people and families in our province.
Together, we’ve been able to reduce the numbers on Need a Family Practice Registry, as we work to meet the needs of Nova Scotia’s rising population. The Need a Family Practice Registry has significantly decreased from 110,456 Nova Scotians on January 2, 2025, to 69,420 as of December 1, 2025.
Nova Scotia has also seen meaningful progress reducing surgical wait times for key procedures – tying for first place in the country for cataract surgeries and ranking in the top three for hip and knee joint replacements and hip fracture repairs completed within benchmarks. There has been a significant decrease in all long waiters, and we continue to be very close to a targeted waitlist appropriate for the size of our province. Our surgical investments and initiatives are paying off, and our efforts must persist to further reduce wait times in these and other areas.
This year, Medical Affairs worked with our partners at DHW, CPSNS, DNS and others to strengthen supports for physicians, including the establishment of the PACE primary health care pathway and hospitalist assessment pathway, provincial program to support physician extenders and new supports for community physicians providing inpatient care. These enhancements reflect our steadfast commitment to easing barriers and finding solutions to allow you to do what you do best: providing exceptional care to Nova Scotians.
We know physicians do their best work when they have the right tools, spaces and technologies. I am excited by the progress being made on the QEII Halifax Infirmary Expansion Project, including the signing of the project agreement for the new Acute Care Tower, adding critical infrastructure to the central zone. Redevelopment at the South Shore Regional Hospital will add a new dialysis unit and introduce the region’s first MRI, expanding health opportunities in the western zone as the hospital prepares for phased re-openings in early 2026. NS Health also realized important milestones in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality healthcare and Yarmouth Regional Hospital emergency department redevelopment projects.
I want to thank all physicians who took part in the Global Workforce Survey, a key component to the accreditation process. The valuable insights gleaned from this work will serve us now, and into the future, as we work together to provide the best care for patients and families in Nova Scotia.
These are just a few examples of the advancements we’ve made this year. Through our Operational Excellence framework and True North metrics, we will monitor, adjust and drive our performance to continue to improve care for Nova Scotians, side-by-side with our operational co-leads.
As you gather with friends and family over the coming days, I hope you will reflect on the changes, the successes, and the challenges. There are many opportunities ahead for us to continue to impact the lives of all Nova Scotians.
Thank you for being part of this journey and cheers to another year of progress and growth. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season and a joyful new year.
Warmly,
Nicole
| 
