At the top of the class of people we call “civil servants” are our elected officials, i.e. MLAs. Ostensibly they are employed to serve us. However, it hasn’t seemed like that were true for a very long time. 

It is high time that we hold our MLAs to account. 

According to a study commissioned by the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia, 88% of Nova Scotians are worried about our healthcare system, in part because we don’t have enough doctors to properly serve our needs. 

The Atlantica Party is pleased to announce Matthew Rushton as our candidate in the March 10 by-election in the district of Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River.

Matthew Rushton has lived in Colchester County for most of his life. He is a former Town Councillor for the Town of Stewiacke, a father of 7, a long-time employee in the aviation industry, construction field, and service industry. Matthew knows what it is like to have to work 2 or 3 jobs in order to provide for his family. He is dedicated, reliable, and focused on addressing and finding solutions for issues facing many of us today, including the health care crisis and the need for more affordable housing.

Matthew's experience and approach to problem solving fits well with Atlantica's common sense platform and will serve the people of Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River very well. On March 10, please join us on the common path to common sense by voting for Matthew Rushton and the Atlantica Party.

The Atlantica Party is Nova Scotia's fastest growing party and Nova Scotia's only true conservative party.

In the Atlantica Party healthcare policy paper, “Alleviating the Healthcare Crisis Through Efficient Use of Human Resources”, we call to increase the use of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in Emergency Rooms (ERs) to increase efficiencies and help reduce the number of non-emergency patients to be seen by the ER Physician. 

Very often the only medical care a patient may require is from a nurse practitioner and not from a doctor.

By using NPs in ERs, the speed and quality of healthcare can be improved and costs can be reduced. 

This helps to free up more doctor hours so that doctors can use their time more efficiently, focusing their efforts where most needed. 

Further, this also creates more jobs and lowers costs.

Nova Scotia has a healthcare crisis and it’s only going to get worse unless we act now to bring common sense solutions to fix problems.

We hope that MLAs of all stripes will work towards helping in this simple way.

Honourable Randy Delorey, Minister of Health and Wellness, we’re looking at you to take the lead.

Read the full policy paper here.

In the upcoming Atlantica Party healthcare policy paper, “Alleviating the Healthcare Crisis Through Efficient Use of Human Resources”, we call for increasing the number of Registered Nurse First-Assists (RNFAs) in operating rooms (ORs) to reduce the need to have general practitioners (GPs) providing first-assist services.

This would greatly increase the efficiency of healthcare and reduce costs. Further, it would create new jobs in Nova Scotia and add to the economy.

Our healthcare system is in crisis. It needs strong action before it collapses under the weight of mismanagement and the greater demands from our aging population. 

Adding RNFAs is a relatively simple and easy way to help increase efficiency in operating rooms. It requires little to no political will and does not have any politically partisan implications.

We hope that the parties in power and MLAs will work towards helping in this simple way.

Honourable Randy Delorey, Minister of Health and Wellness, we’re looking at you.

Read the full policy paper here and find out exactly why this policy is needed.

Over the upcoming days we’ll be trickling out some points in our upcoming policy paper, “Alleviating the Healthcare Crisis Through Efficient Use of Human Resources”, which will be released shortly. 

You’ll get a taste of some common sense policy that can help alleviate the healthcare crisis in Nova Scotia.

Stay tuned. It’s coming…

And when that’s done, we have some good old common sense economics policy for you.

Our recent healthcare policy, “Alleviating the Healthcare Crisis Through Positive Incentives”, delivered a way to get more “doctor hours” to help with the failing healthcare system. But it’s not the only option. There are more.

Another way to increase available doctor hours is to allow pharmacists to participate in that same insurance ticket system, described in “Alleviating the Healthcare Crisis Through Positive Incentives”, for medical services that they are capable of delivering, such as immunizations.

A recent article in HalifaxToday.ca pointed out the problem there with pharmacists not being covered for those same medical services that family doctors provide.

“But Bodnar explained that the real issue is that pharmacists are not included as part of the public system so for those patients who want to utilize these services, they will have to pay cash as it's not something covered by health care services in the province.”

Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia CEO Allison Bodnar has an excellent point.

Why not allow pharmacists to bill for these services in the same way that general practitioners do? Is it not our common goal to provide medical services to those who need them? Does it matter exactly “who” provides those services?

We don’t believe that it matters who provides the service as long as they’re competent to do so.

Including pharmacists in the healthcare system for procedures that they are qualified to administer, and that otherwise would be provided by a family doctor, would help alleviate the pressure on family doctors and shorten our lengthy wait queues. This is just common sense.

However, at a minimum, allowing pharmacists to bill through insurance tickets would be one tiny step towards our common goal of improving the health of Nova Scotians.

There can be multiple solutions to problems, and sometimes multiple solutions can complement each other.

So we ask you, can you think of any reasons why pharmacists should not be able to bill for those services, or why they shouldn’t be allowed to accept insurance tickets for payment?

Considering the current situations unfolding in Ottawa and here in Nova Scotia, the Atlantica Party wishes to reiterate our dedication to transparency and accountability in government. The people of Nova Scotia must be empowered to hold government to account.

The following are some ways to strengthen our democracy and make that happen:

• Recall Legislation: Make elected MLAs accountable to the people in their riding
• Public Allowance of Laws/Acts: Because good ideas can come from anywhere
• Strengthen the Lobbying Act: Make lobbying open and transparent and punish those who violate the law
• Allow Free Voting in the Legislature: Allow MLAs to support their ridings and not necessarily their party
• Recorded Voting and Attendance: MLAs are hired by Nova Scotians, and as such, Nova Scotians have a right to know what their employees are doing
• Restoring Power to the People: The offices that ostensibly are tasked with holding government to account should have the power to do so

See our full policy here.

Would you like to see greater democratic power in the hands of everyday Nova Scotians?

If so, please consider helping the Atlantica Party in its quest to improve the lives of Nova Scotians through joining the party or making a donation.

It’s a long journey, but together we can make it down the path to common sense.

About 10% of Nova Scotians don’t have a family doctor. Our healthcare system is in crisis.

This can easily be fixed with a single tweak to the billing system: Allow doctors working overtime hours to bill through insurance tickets at a 2/3rds redemption rate. (That is, patients could use their existing insurance tickets for other medical services to see their family doctor faster in overtime.) In addition to patients seeing doctors faster, this would mean about a 3x earnings compared to regular patients for doctors, and a savings of 1/3rd for insurance companies. This would create clear positive incentives for patients, doctors and insurance companies.

But what about other patients?

Simple. There are more “doctor hours” available to treat patients. More doctor hours means better healthcare. Better healthcare means improved health outcomes. Improved health outcomes means less stress on the healthcare system, which means more doctor hours.

Patients with insurance could see doctors in overtime hours, which would reduce the patient load in doctors’ regular hours. Those patients would receive faster access when needed, and this would lead to better health outcomes for them.

With more regular doctor hours available, queue times would be shortened for everyone. Instead of waiting 3 weeks, a patient may need to only wait 2 weeks.

But the benefits of more doctor hours would cascade throughout the healthcare system.

If a patient can see their doctor quickly, they can avoid hospital visits for an “aspirin and bandage”, i.e. treatment that should be provided by family doctors in their offices.

Better health outcomes would also mean fewer hospitalizations. This would save money and free up further doctor hours to treat patients.

Summary: More doctor hours means improved health which means less requirement by people to see doctors which means more doctor hours to alleviate the current healthcare system crisis.

We could list many more benefits here, but you can read the Atlantica Party’s Alleviating the Healthcare Crisis Through Positive Incentives policy paper for more information.

Last week, Michael Nickerson, President of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 727 issued a grave warning to the Province about the state of Nova Scotia’s Paramedics.

Halifax, NS:  It is the position of the Atlantica Party that the sale of alcohol and cannabis should be the role of the private market. Provinces like Alberta and Quebec have successfully proven that the government does not need to be involved in retail.

A growing and disheartening trend is emerging throughout Canada concerning your local Royal Canadian Legions. Over the last several years many Legions have faced struggles from declining revenues, fading memberships, and outright closures.

(Image Source: K.C. Green’s Gunshow comic #648 January 9th, 2013 http://gunshowcomic.com/648)