Department Redesign to Improve Focus on Health-care Results

The Department of Health and Wellness will restructure in order to put more resources into front line care. Changes announced today, Jan. 26, will take effect April 1.

The reorganization will move some programs to the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK. It will reduce staff in the department and focus new and existing positions on developing and changing policies that will contribute to reduced wait times and improved health outcomes for Nova Scotians.

In all, 100 positions at the department will be eliminated. The department will transfer 62 positions to the Nova Scotia Health Authority, the IWK and the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. Twenty people have received layoff notices. Some vacant positions or terms will also end. As part of the reorganization, 25 new positions will be created.

"Every decade our health-care spending has gone up, but we aren't becoming any healthier as a result," said Department of Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine. "It's time to change that by focusing on setting priorities and measuring results, so we know where our health care system most needs to improve."

The department was designed when there were 10 separate health authorities. Now that the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK have a provincewide mandate to deliver health care, the department must also restructure and operate differently.