Latest news with #DoctorsNovaScotia
CBC
03-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Doctors Nova Scotia joins voices opposed to expanding booze sales in N.S.
The Nova Scotia government has wrapped up consultations that will help determine if it will allow alcohol to be sold in more places, including grocery and corner stores. It's a move that Doctors Nova Scotia fears will cause significantly more harm than good. In June, 14 physicians who specialize in addiction medicine wrote an open letter to Finance Minister John Lohr, whose department is overseeing the process, saying alcohol already causes more than 500 deaths a year in Nova Scotia. Now, those doctors have the backing of the provincial organization that advocates for physicians. Dr. Shelly McNeil, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, sent an email to members this week saying they are unequivocally opposed to expanding the availability of alcohol. "We are imploring decision makers to think about it not just in the immediate increase in revenues, but also in the long-term costs in the system," she told CBC News. "There's lots of evidence of the harms that come from this kind of policy shift." Representatives from breweries and wineries say they participated in the consultations. There were submissions from organizations who support the move, including the Retail Council of Canada, which argues that the sales will help stores that are losing business to online shopping. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is also for the change. It recommends allowing the sale of beverages that do not exceed 7.1 per cent alcohol by volume in convenience and grocery stores and opening those rules to all small businesses, not just large retailers. Ontario expanded alcohol sales to smaller stores last year while setting limits on the volume of alcohol. But McNeil said Ontario's health-care system is already seeing the downside to greater access, referring to a 17 per cent increase in hospital visits connected to alcohol. A similar increase in Nova Scotia would mean 7,600 extra visits to the emergency department a year, she said. "In an already overburdened system, we can't afford to have our emergency volumes go up that much and we can't afford the harms that come to people that lead them to the emergency department." In Nova Scotia, alcohol is sold mainly at NSLC stores, agency stores in rural communities, four private stores in the Halifax area and sites owned by breweries, distilleries and wineries. McNeil said one of her concerns lies with expansion to locations with less regulation, where teens would be more likely to be able to find a way to buy booze. She said research shows alcohol can lead to increased rates of nine cancers, cardiovascular disease and chronic illnesses. She is also worried about societal issues, pointing to intimate partner violence, which politicians in the provincial legislature declared in September 2024 to be an epidemic in Nova Scotia, and drinking and driving. She said Doctors Nova Scotia has been happy with the Progressive Conservative government's work on health care to date but fears a decision in favour of expanding alcohol sales could undermine that work. "We really worry that this will take a bite out of the progress that has been made." McNeil said Doctors Nova Scotia made its submission in writing as part of the consultations, but she's urging policymakers to reach out and speak to physicians directly. The Finance Department said in a statement that it is reviewing input from the consultations and it will determine the next steps. It won't say when Nova Scotians might hear an update.
CTV News
18-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
10 first-year seats to be added to Dalhousie University's medical program
A doctor is seen in this file photo. (Pexels) There will soon be more seats available for students in Nova Scotia studying to become doctors. Five more first-year seats will be reserved this fall for students in the doctor of medicine program at Halifax's Dalhousie University. There will be total of 99 first-year seats in the Dalhousie medical program with the addition of the new seats. Meanwhile, there will be 30 first-year seats at the Cape Breton medical campus in Sydney, which will begin welcoming students this fall. Five additional first-year seats will be added at Dalhousie in 2026-27. The province says it is spending more than $2.2 million for the 10 additional seats. 'Dalhousie Medical School proudly trains skilled physicians who deliver high-quality, sustainable health care in Nova Scotia. I am very pleased government is making this significant investment in undergraduate medical education and continuing to create more pathways for Nova Scotians choosing medicine as a career,' said Dr. David Anderson, Dalhousie's dean of Medicine, in a provincial news release. The new president of Doctors Nova Scotia adds the investment is great news for both Nova Scotians and physicians. 'We look forward to welcoming and mentoring these new medical students into the system and increasing access to family medicine and specialist care for Nova Scotians,' said Dr. Shelly McNeil. The province says of all the medical seats for entry this year, 114 are reserved for Nova Scotia students, six for Prince Edward Island residents and nine are for people from outside the Maritimes. If any of the designated seats are empty, priority will be given to Nova Scotians. Admissions for Nova Scotian residents in undergraduate health programs will be prioritized starting next year. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
New Doctors Nova Scotia president to make family medicine a priority
Shelly McNeil was appointed as the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia. (Source: Facebook/Doctors Nova Scotia) As the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia, Shelly McNeil says her top priority is supporting family medicine. 'It's a key for specialists like me to do their job,' she told CTV News Atlantic's Todd Battis during an interview Wednesday. 'At the very core, it means every Nova Scotian has a family doctor.' McNeil, an infectious disease specialist based in Halifax, was installed as the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia during the association's annual conference last weekend. Her term will run for a year. Doctors Nova Scotia, which is the oldest medical association in Canada, aims to support physicians by negotiating with the provincial government, influencing the development of health-care policies and offering programs and services. The association currently represents more than 3,500 physicians. McNeil said she would like the province to move towards team-based care, which would be led by family physicians. She notes the association is also focused on recruitment and making Nova Scotia an attractive place to work. 'Make it a province that family doctors want to practice in,' she said. Shelly McNeil Shelly McNeil was appointed as the new president of Doctors Nova Scotia. (Source: Facebook/Doctors Nova Scotia) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
