Nova Scotia Health offering virtual urgent care to all residents 'indefinitely' after trial run

Nova Scotia Health saysit will be offering virtual care indefinitely to all residents in the province with a health card who need same-day or next-day treatment.

The health authority said Friday that thechange comes after offering the service on a trial basis this week in the wake of widespread flooding.

People requiring urgent care can access the service by calling 1-833-413-0277 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to noon on weekends.

There is no cost for the service.

Tara Sampalli, thesenior director forglobal health systems planning at the authority, told CBC's Information Morning Nova Scotiaearlier in the week that virtual care has become an important part of the authority's approach to health care.

She said they are looking at virtual urgent care to address gaps in communities where there is a lack of providers.

The authority has been looking at the types of urgent care needs which do not require people to get emergency carein person, she said.

Learning from past disasters

Sampalli said the need for virtual care has become obvious as communities in the province have been affected by a trio of natural disasters within the past year.

"As soon as we knew that people were impacted, services were impacted ... we thought about virtual urgent care," she said, referring tothe recent flooding.

"We were able to stand up over the weekend as a test and try to see how people who are impacted due to various reasons, including providers and teams, could feel the relief from this type of service."

Sampalli said there are strict criteria for determining what situations are suitable for virtual urgent care.

The service isavailablefor a number of health issues, including prescription refills, sore throats and minor respiratory issues.

Friday's release asked people to be patient if they encounter wait times, as the service is new.

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