Nurses to help answer non-life-threatening 911 calls in Nova Scotia

An EHS ambulance is seen in an undated file photo.

Registered nurses will soon help answer non-life-threatening 911 calls in Nova Scotia.

Emergency Health Services (EHS) says nurses will join paramedics and doctors at their medical communications centre in Dartmouth, N.S., starting next month.

The provincial government says the change is being made so paramedics can focus on emergencies.

"In an emergency, every second matters, so we must make sure every second counts," said Nova Scotia Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson in a news release. "This will help ensure paramedics are dispatched to the most urgent calls, while also providing immediate medical advice and assistance for those not requiring an ambulance."

Health-related 911 callers may be transferred to a nurse if they do not need an ambulance or paramedic. The nurse will then assess the caller, plan treatment and give them medical advice.

Jessica Chisholm is one of the registered nurses joining the medical communications centre team.

"What made me really want to come to this position is that it puts me in a place where I can help people at the start of their care and identify the different pathways they can access,” she says. “It interested me to be a part of a brand new program and build it from the ground up as one of the first people in this role, which will help people get the right care at the right time.”

According to the news release, the EHS Medical Communications Centre will be the third centre in Canada to have a nurse on staff. It will also be the first to have a nurse, clinical support paramedic and physician all on-site.

Clinical support paramedics have worked at the medical communications centre for 10 years, and on-site physicians were added to the team last November.

"There are many other initiatives being looked at collaboratively to assist in the retention and workplace improvements for our paramedics as we move forward to meet the challenges paramedics face on a daily basis,” says Kevin MacMullin, the business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers local 727, which represents paramedics in Nova Scotia.

According to the province, the EHS Medical Communications Centre received 183,500 calls last year and about 31 per cent of the emergency and urgent calls did not require patient transport.

Nova Scotians looking for medical advice can also call 811, which is staffed by registered nurses 24 hours a day, seven days a week.