Accessing Primary Care

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Overview

Virtual Urgent Care

VirtualCareNS

Urgent Treatment Centres in Northern Zone

Urgent Treatment Centres in Central Zone

Mobile Primary Care Clinics

Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics

811

Emergency Departments

If you are currently experiencing the onset of any of the following symptoms: thoughts of suicide, harming yourself or others, chest pain, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, severe abdominal pain, loss/alteration of consciousness, slurred speech or trouble speaking, sudden loss of vision, trouble raising your arms or weakness on one side of your body, face or numbness or drooping, please call 911 or visit an emergency department immediately.

If you have a non-life threatening urgent health concern, your first call should be to your primary care provider (doctor or nurse practitioner).

Virtual Urgent Care

Available

Varies by location. Appointments are walk-in only and cannot be booked in advance.

Typical Wait for Access to Care

1-3 hours

Nova Scotia Health is offering a virtual option for people coming to the hospital with urgent, non-life-threatening health issues. Virtual Urgent Care is not a replacement for the local emergency department but will be particularly helpful during times when the local emergency department is temporarily closed.

Receiving urgent care virtually is simple, safe and confidential. At times when virtual urgent care is offered, patients will be assessed by on-site triage staff and register as usual.

Some examples of what may be able to be seen through a virtual appointment include:

prescription refills
sinus congestion
coughs and sore throat
urinary tract infections
skin concerns; bites and stings
mild/ moderate aches and pains
other conditions as assessed by your healthcare provider

You can find locations and hours of operation here.

VirtualCareNS

Available

6 days a week. Closed on Saturdays.

Typical Wait for Access to Care

2-8 hours

VirtualCareNS provides Nova Scotians with free, online visits with a primary care provider (doctor or nurse practitioner).

There are now two options for virtual care:

Option 1: VirtualCareNS for Nova Scotians on the Need a Family Practice Registry until they are placed with a permanent family practice.

Option 2: NEW - VirtualCareNS for Nova Scotians with a Primary Care Provider. Through this pathway, patients are limited to 2 free visits per year on Maple.

Urgent Treatment Centres in Northern Zone

Available

Varies by location. Appointment required.

Typical Wait for Access to Care

Within 48 hours

Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC's) provide access to care for those with unexpected, non-life-threatening health concerns with appointments offered within one to two days.

Appointments are required and can be made by calling the numbers below:

Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital (Tatamagouche) - 902-657-2385
South Cumberland Community Care Centre (Parrsboro) - 902-254-2540 option 1

Urgent Treatment Centres in Central Zone

Available

Varies by location. Appointment required.

Typical Wait for Access to Care

WIthin 48 hours

Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC's) provide access to care for those with unexpected, non-life-threatening health concerns with appointments offered within one to two days.

Appointments are required and can be made by calling the numbers below:

Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital (Sheet Harbour) - 902-885-2554
Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital (Middle Musquodoboit) - 902-384-2220

Mobile Primary Care Clinics

Available

Varies. Pop up clinics.

Typical Wait for Access to Care

Same day

Mobile Primary Care Clinics can only address non-urgent, low acuity health issues and is not an emergency service. Care is provided using a team approach, which includes nurse practitioners and family physicians. Patients will be seen in a clinic environment.

Some clinics require appointments and others do not. You can find the scheduled locations and access information for upcoming Mobile Primary Care Clinics here.

Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics

Available

Hours vary by location

Typical Wait for Access to Care

24-48 hours

Community Pharmacy Primary Care Clinics are available widely across the entire province. These pharmacist-led clinics will provide an extended suite of pharmacy primary care services at no charge to people with a valid Nova Scotia Health Card.

Appointments are required and can be booked here. You can usually get an appointment within a day or two.

811

Available

24 Hours a day, 7 days a week

Typical Wait for Access to Care

5 minutes for intake*

Call 811 to speak with a registered nurse for health care advice, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also, there is information on more than 500 health topics at: 811.NovaScotia.ca.

*During busy times a nurse may not be available right away. In those cases, a Telehealth Associate will take your information, and a nurse will call you back. This may take several hours during peak activity periods.

Emergency Departments

You can visit any of NSH's Emergency Departments when you require primary care during their regular hours of operation.

Visiting the emergency department will often require long wait times, and more urgent cases are always treated as a priority. If your primary care care issue isn't life threatening, the emergency department may not be the best choice for you to access primary care.

Find Nearest Emergency Care

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