Health centre eager to see patients in person again as lockdown eases

Halifax's North End Community Health Centre is gearing up to offer more in-person access to frontline health care as Nova Scotia's Phase 4 reopening allows for expanded services.

The centre is getting ready to welcome more of its patients back inside its Gottingen Street facility, with indoor capacity limits increasing as of Wednesday.

"We're really excited to go back to work the way we think is the best approach to serve our clients and our patients," said Marie-France LeBlanc, the executive director of the organization.

The centre offers wraparound care aimed at eliminating barriers for people trying to access health care, but the pandemic has presented some challenges.

"We have done our best, we have held clinics in our van so that people could be seen, we've held meetings outside in the parking lot, we've been very creative," LeBlanc said, adding virtual care has been a big part of how the centre continued to support people.

The restrictions have led to limits in the waiting room at the centre's primary care clinic as well as on the time that could be spent with social workers during the walk-in.

"To know it's lightening up will be a big relief for a lot of people," said Megan MacBride, the community social work team lead.

To prevent the spread of the virus, time deadlines were placed on social work services as well.

"Trying to do anything in 15 minutes is very, very challenging, so it will mean we will be able to take the time we need with clients in settings where they have felt comfortable," MacBride said. 

She noted many clients need detailed guidance to navigate things like applications for social housing or income assistance and that can be difficult to cram into such a short time frame.

In-person mental health services set to return

There has only been time for the social work drop-in to see four people each afternoon through pandemic restrictions, which will now return to 10 people in full hour-long appointments, although masks and visors will still be a requirement for staff and clients.

Nonetheless, increasing the amount of face-to-face support is something MacBride says will be a major boost for people who are marginalized.

"It helps with the feelings of isolation and people who are homeless and living in poverty already experience a lot of social isolation, so COVID has made that really challenging for a lot of people," she said.

The centre's mental health walk-in clinic could also return to in-person visits soon, having continued with appointments by phone since the pandemic hit.

That's expected to return to face-to-face sessions in the next few weeks.

Lana MacLean is a private clinical social worker who provides family counselling and assessments.

While some of her clients have not minded talking on the phone, or through video, she's said those platforms don't always reveal the full picture.

"Those non verbal cues, the nuances of peoples — psychomotor agitation and ways in which they are breathing, we have to pay attention with those things," MacLean said. "You don't always notice that versus being in person."

MacLean has seen increased demand for her services from the African Nova Scotian community, pointing out many people have struggled with isolation without their usual supports through things like church and community activities.

She's found virtual care options to be critical during the pandemic while acknowledging meeting in person works far better for some.

The North End Community Health Centre will continue to use virtual care in some cases too but is now figuring out how quickly it can offer in-person programming as Nova Scotia's phased reopening continues.

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