By Jo

Nova Scotia Health still clings to its COVID-19 vaccination policy for healthcare workers. One that other provinces have rescinded. This may have cost the life of at least one patient at Soldiers Memorial Hospital.

MIDDLETON, N.S. — While a man lay dying from heart failure at Soldiers Memorial Hospital, a doctor (who may have been able to save him) was raking leaves in his yard less than 10 minutes away.

With no doctors in the vicinity who were allowed to work, the hospital was forced to call in volunteer firefighters and EHS. The doctor they did call was in Kentville, almost 40 minutes away, and by the time he arrived, further attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful. The man ultimately died. The blame rests solely on Nova Scotia Health’s COVID-19 vaccination policy. Only British Columbia and Nova Scotia still require healthcare workers to have two shots in order to work. Why have the others relaxed this mandate and even rehired unvaccinated doctors? Why is NS looking for doctors outside the province, while NS doctors have been sidelined and not allowed to work?

Does NS have a leadership deficit? Who is really running NS Health?

There are several emergency physicians in the (Annapolis) Valley who are no longer working because of the policy. One doctor has stated he would return to work at Soldiers Memorial Hospital emergency department in Middleton if Nova Scotia Health drops its vaccine mandate. They have been off the job for more than a year and a half.

Doctors were readily available at Soldiers Memorial Hospital 24/7 before the COVID vaccine mandates were implemented. However, since June 2022, the emergency room has been partially staffed, open only Tuesday – Friday 7:30 am to 1:30 pm — if doctors are available. They are struggling to maintain even those reduced hours because of the (vaccine) mandates. How is a vaccine mandate about safety if people are dying as a result? The lack of leadership, along with bad policy puts the community at risk. If eight other provinces have rescinded this mandate and hired these doctors back, there is no reason why NS should cling to such Draconian measures that put people at risk.

In April, Carman Kerr (the Liberal MLA for Annapolis) raised concerns with Health Minister, Michelle Thompson, about the number of health care workers dismissed in his constituency because of the vaccine mandate. He asked her if there were any options. The Minister knew of none. Kerr has received phone calls from constituents and paramedics crying and still NS Health refused to change their policies for the protection of the public and did not allow doctors to return to work. This is, again, a sign of poor leadership. The public needs to speak out and get this mandate rescinded and these doctors back to work, so that there are not more incidents like this and more hospitals closing.