Ultrasonography in Central Zone Hits “Rock Bottom”

DARTMOUTH – Severe shortages of Ultrasonographers in Nova Scotia Health’s Central Zone are forcing Nova Scotians who should be seen within 30 days to wait as long as a year or even 18 months.

“Key areas of the NSH are now down to half-staff or worse,” said NSGEU President Sandra Mullen. “Staff report that a typical wait time for an ultrasound has soared above one year.”

Provincial wait time data shows that 90 per cent of Nova Scotians are waiting 320 days on average for an ultrasound. That’s up 27.5 per cent from the same time last year, when the average wait time was 232 days. At the QEII, 90 per cent of patients are waiting an average of 364 days, up 30 per cent from the same time period last year.

Staff say this is dangerous, as cancers and disease may advance into the next stage within this timeframe and they are now seeing patients at a much sicker level than ever before. This is adding to emergency visits, treatment waitlists, and in-patient stays.

Ultrasonographers in the Central Zone met with NSGEU staff in late July. While staffing levels may vary as people are hired or leave, some services are operating with half the staff required to deliver proper care. For example, the Halifax Infirmary, Victoria General and Bayers Lake sites should have 16 Ultrasonographers combined, and they have just 5.8 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff. Dartmouth General staffing is forty per cent below required levels. This means that Ultrasonographers, who are normally expected to see 13 to 14 patients a day, are now often forced to see 18 to 19 to try and keep up with the extreme demand.

“They report that patients with suspected illness like ovarian cancer, who are a Priority 3 level and should be seen within one month, are waiting up to a year. Some of the patients who are deemed Priority 2 and should be seen within a week are taking several months,” Mullen said. “These waits are endangering patients. This is a full-blown crisis and it is getting worse.”

She pointed out the Province knows it has a problem. It has made efforts, including opening four new machines in Bayers Lake. But they are taking Ultrasonographers from other areas of the province and are relying on retirees to operate these new machines.

“One Ultrasonographer told us she’s been doing this work for 25 years and it is the worst they have ever seen in terms of staffing shortages and wait times,” said Mullen. “Another said they feel like they have hit rock bottom.”

Members report that patients often aren’t aware they should have been seen within 30 days.

“Ultrasonographers are telling us that when patients are told they will wait 18 months they assume their matter is not that serious, but it is and it should have been seen much sooner,” said Mullen.

NSH and IWK Ultrasonographers are the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada by far. The most critically ill patients in Atlantic Canada are referred to the Central Zone in Nova Scotia, yet they make up to nine dollars an hour less than their counterparts in other provinces.

The unions representing Health Care workers, IWK and NSH are in bargaining now to try to reach a new agreement that will help recruit and retain Ultrasonographers, among other critical health care professions.