Nova Scotia is the seventh most populated and fourth least populated province in Canada. It is one of the four provinces that make up Atlantic Canada and one of the three Canadian Maritimes. In land area, Nova Scotia is the second smallest of the ten Canadian provinces. The province has 3.2 in-hospital sepsis in 2016-2017 as compared to 3.9 for the rest of Canada.
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The Nova Scotia Medical Service Insurance (MSI) and hospital program cover a range of services from laboratory and diagnostic services to medically necessary nursing.
However, it does not cover the following services:
The provincial plan covers medically necessary optometric services, albeit, restrictions apply to the coverage. The following optometric services are not covered by the plan.
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Nova Scotia prescription drug program is designed for eligible residents who cannot afford their prescription.
The following features are not covered under the prescription drug program.
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Only medically necessary dental services carried out in a hospital are covered by the Nova Scotia plan. The following services are not covered.
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One of the basic issues facing Nova Scotia health care is extensive wait times for mental health treatment. The extensive wait time is highly connected to the increasing number of suicides in the province. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of suicides reported in Nova Scotia has increased from 75 to 134.
The last recorded wait time for mental health patients in Halifax is 112 days and the record shows 363 days for Sydney, Cape Braton. The provincial government aims to minimize the lengthy weight time to the standard of seven days for urgent needs and 28 days for non-urgent needs.
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On the average, 22% of Nova Scotians are reported to smoke daily or occasionally compared to 20% for Canada in general. The figure is high in some regions of Nova Scotia (up to 29%) and low in some other region (about 19%). Also, there is a significant difference in age among the smokers with about 27% of 20-34 years Nova Scotians reported to smoke daily and occasionally whereas only 11% of 65+ residents were reported.
