Glace Bay emergency room doctors are getting a break starting next week.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority says on days when the ER is only open during the day, patient triage will end at 4 p.m., beginning Tuesday.
This will allow doctors to finish their 12-hour shift without incurring overtime.
Chris Milburn, an emergency doctor and ER chief for the health authority’s eastern zone, says having doctors work past the end of their 12-hour shift can lead to burnout and put patient safety at risk.
Nova Scotia is short of ER doctors, and Milburn says emergency departments across the province have had to adjust their hours.
The practice has been already in place since December at the Northside General Hospital and has been implemented at other community hospitals across Nova Scotia.
(CBC)
