Doctor to tackle chronic ER closures

Nova Scotia's NDP government has appointed an outspoken emergency room doctor as its new adviser to help address the chronic problem of ER closures in the province's rural communities.

Dr. John Ross was the director of the emergency department at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax last winter when he called a mass casualty alert to deal with overcrowding in the emergency room.

The alert — known as a Code Orange — is normally used to signal events such as a major industrial or vehicle accident. Ross came to public prominence as the physician who triggered the alert for the first time for an internal hospital problem.

Ross said since his appointment, people have questioned why he would want the job.

"This is an incredible opportunity for us that have been labouring in emergency departments … to have an opportunity to potentially influence decision-making," said Ross, who has nearly 20 years experience with emergency room medicine.

He did not say how he would address ER closures or whether he would recommend closing them if he thought it were necessary.

"I want to hear what all the ideas and what all the opinions are," said Ross. "People want to know that they can get access, to get an opinion about their emergency problem quickly.

"The question is, 'How do we deliver that in the most fiscally responsible and sensible way?' And again, I don't know what the answer is."

Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said Ross was "eminently qualified" to tackle the challenge.

"The fact that he has a passion for patient care is certainly something that was an element that created a lot of interest in Dr. Ross in this position," she said.

During the NDP's campaign, the party promised to appoint an adviser and keep all rural emergency rooms open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Code Orange

On Jan. 20, the corridors of the emergency department at the QEII Health Sciences Centre were filled with patients in gurneys, while several patients waited in ambulances parked outside.

Ross, who was on shift that morning, issued a Code Orange, the same alert used for the SwissAir disaster in 1998 and the MK Airlines crash in 2004.

He faced criticism from senior hospital administrators, who said other options were available.

Two weeks later, Ross stepped aside from his duties as manager of day-to-day operations at the hospital, though he remained as district chief of emergency medicine for the Capital District Health Authority and head of the department of emergency medicine for Dalhousie University.

At the time, he said his departure had nothing to do with his decision to call the mass casualty alert.

Since then, the hospital has instituted a new code — Code Census — to serve as an internal alert for congestion in the emergency department.