Minister's Message

Shorter wait times and better health care, that's my commitment to you and your family.ADd

Nova Scotia has an excellent health care system with many caring people ready to help you on your way to wellness. Health care professionals across our province are working hard to reduce wait times wherever possible.

This website gives you the information you need to participate more in your own care and reduce your wait time. If you see a shorter wait time somewhere and you're willing to travel, talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about booking at the other location. You'll reduce your wait time and the wait time of others in the queue.

We all have a role to play in improving health care. It is a shared responsibility between patients, healthcare providers, district health authorities, and government.

  • Health Minister Maureen MacDonald (centre) talks to radiation therapists Raymond Wright and Erin Brown at the announcement of $10.1 million in provincial funding to expand the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre in Halifax.
  • Health Minister Maureen MacDonald announces the province is providing $10.1 million in provincial funding for an expansion at the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre. The same day, the QEII Foundation announced its campaign to raise an additional $4 million for the project.
  • The Four Atlantic Health Ministers met in Halifax in January and signed a memorandum of understanding that will provide assistance to provinces that are unable to meet an eight-week guarantee for Radiation Therapy. From left: Mary Schryer, Minister of Health New Brunswick; Nova Scotia Health Minister, Maureen MacDonald,; Carolyn Bertram, Minister Health and Wellness Prince Edward Island; and Jerome Kennedy, Minister Health and Community Services Newfoundland and Labrador.
  • Radiation Therapy patient David Sneddon speaks to Health Minister Maureen MacDonald at the Cape Breton Cancer Centre during the minister's tour of the centre and its expansion. Mr. Sneddon, who was getting daily treatment for prostate cancer, told the minister that being able to get care so close to where he lives - instead of having to travel to Halifax - allowed him to enjoy the comforts of home.
  • (From left) Deputy Premier Frank Corbett and Health Minister Maureen MacDonald took a tour of the Cape Breton Cancer Center and expansion. Here, Chief Physicist John Grant shows them the new treatment room that is expected to open by July 2010.