Patient Relations

Every day, we learn from patients, clients and families. When you tell us about your experience – good or bad – it helps us improve the care and service we provide.

We’d love to hear your compliments and/or concerns. You can share these directly with your health care provider(s) or unit/department manager, or you can contact our Patient Relations team, listed below.

Find the Patient Relations Contact in your area:

Call 1-844-884-4177 toll-free anywhere in Nova Scotia, or send an email by zone:

• Annapolis Valley, South West, and South Shore Areas
  • WZpatientrelations@nshealth.ca
• Colchester, Cumberland, Pictou County, and East Hants areas
  • NZpatientrelations@nshealth.ca
• Cape Breton, Antigonish and Guysborough Areas
  • EZpatientrelations@nshealth.ca
• Halifax Regional Municipality, Eastern Shore and West Hants Areas
  • CZpatientrelations@nshealth.ca
     

What information do I need to include when I share feedback?

The nature of your feedback – what happened? Please provide a brief description of your experience.

The name(s) of the person(s) involved and their role(s):

• Patient's first and last name;
• Your first and last name (if you are not the patient);
• Nova Scotia Health staff involved, and their role, if you know this information. 

If you are not the patient, please confirm:

• That the patient is willing to give consent for you to share feedback on their behalf.  We require direct patient consent to proceed. Please ask the patient to contact Patient Relations directly via email or phone.
  OR
• That you are active in the role of substitute decision maker due to patient’s incapacity.

When and where the event took place about which you are providing feedback:

• Date and time;
• Nova Scotia Health facility, unit, department and/or clinic. 

Contact information:

• How and where would you like to be contacted? (email, phone, etc.) If you would prefer not to be contacted, please let us know.

What is the role of the Patient Relations team in addressing feedback?

The Patient Relations team’s role is to receive and respond to feedback provided by patients, clients and families about care or treatment received in a Nova Scotia Health facility or by a Nova Scotia Health program. The Patient Relations team works with health care teams to develop a plan to address the feedback and identify opportunities for improvement.

What happens to patient and family feedback?

• We’ll contact you within 3 business days to confirm we received your feedback  
• We may ask for more information and confirm patient consent if needed  
• We share your feedback with the care team and review what happened  
• We create a plan to address concerns and improve care  
• Follow-up actions are usually completed within 21 business days  
• We’ll contact you with an update if you’ve requested a response