HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s NDP is calling on the province to urgently address overcrowding and long wait times inside emergency rooms. 

Susan Leblanc issued the demand in a news release today, as a legislature committee begins discussing emergency room understaffing and its impact on government expenses. 

Leblanc, the opposition party’s health spokesperson, says Nova Scotians are worried about labour shortages in hospitals and are reporting long wait times for care.

She says health-care workers are going above and beyond to care for patients, but she says the province needs to recruit more people to work in emergency medicine.

Nova Scotia hospitals are admitting high numbers of sick patients as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 are circulating at the same time.

The head of pediatrics at Halifax children’s hospital IWK Health Centre told reporters last week that there were more sick children in the province’s hospitals than he has seen in 30 years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press