The Nova Scotia government has announced a plan to improve emergency care following the deaths last month of two women who had waited hours for treatment.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson says the deaths of 37-year-old Allison Holthoff in Amherst and 67-year-old Charlene Snow in Cape Breton “added a sense of urgency” for action.

The plan includes creating doctor-led triage teams that will focus on admitting patients more quickly in E-Rs and assigning extra physician assistants and nurse practitioners to emergency rooms.

Thompson says the province will also improve ambulance response times and offer more places for people to receive care, easing pressure on emergency departments.

As for reaction to the plan, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says a critical question not answered by the government is where the workers will come from to staff E-Rs and hospitals plagued by shortages.

Independent MLA Elizabeth Smith McCrossin, who has been advocating for Allison Holthoff’s family since her December 31st death, is skeptical the changes are enough given what she says are huge resource gaps.

 

 

Prosecutors have shown video evidence of the alleged leader of beating at a Halifax area jail in 2019 participating in other incidents of jail violence.

Video from November 2021 shows Brian James Marriott standing in front of corrections officers as they attempt to get past him to enter a cell at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility to stop an attack on an inmate.

Other images from that jail in January 2022 show Marriott throwing a series of punches at an inmate after an argument on the maximum security range.

Prosecutors are asking Nova Scotia Supreme Court to designate Marriott a dangerous offender following his conviction in the assault of fellow inmate Stephen Anderson at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility.

 

 

People at highest risk of being exposed to the mpox virus can now book their next dose appointment for the Imvamune vaccine.

The next clinic at the New Glasgow Public Health Office Community Health Centre (690 East River Rd.) will be on Friday, Feb. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

 

Medals to be awarded at this summer’s North American Indigenous Games in Nova Scotia will showcase Mi’kmaq art, including a traditional eight-pointed star.

Indigenous athletes from across the continent will take home nearly three-thousand gold, silver and bronze medals from the sporting competitions set for July.

The design also includes a symbol that represents the word “L’nu,” which Mi’kmaq use to describe themselves, and features cultural drawings and etchings meant to represent what happens when people follow their dreams.

The medals were designed by student Ella Scothorn, from the community of Hardwoodlands, and finalized by Mi’kmaq artist Tayla Fern Paul.

 

 

In the Maritime Junior Hockey league last night, the Pictou County Weeks Crushers lost 4-1 to the Amherst Ramblers.