Welcome

The Nova Scotia Citizens’ Health Care Network is the provincial affiliate to the Canadian Health Coalition.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @NSHealthNetwork.  Use hashtag #nshealth.

Formed in 1996 the Health Network’s goal is to stop the privatization of the public health care system, ensure high level of care, and create a forum of people and communities to discuss issues related to health care.

The Health Network is a coalition of local health committees, community groups, organized labour, faith groups and concerned individuals dedicated to protecting, strengthening, and expanding public health care to include services like pharmacare, dental care, long-term care and home care.

The Health Network is political but non-partisan and receives no government funding.  Our budget comes strictly from our members.

  • Recent Media Releases
    • Letter to the Editor: Health Council demise a sign

      Published in The Chronicle Herald
      April 21, 2013

      Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to cut the Health Council of Canada should clear any lingering doubts: the federal government has abandoned all responsibility for health care and is turning its back on the provinces as they struggle to pick up the pieces.

      The council provided accountability and promoted consistent quality of care, nationwide. The Harper government’s rationale for axing the council is that with next year’s expiry of the intergovernmental health agreements, “there is no longer a need” for it to monitor progress. But why does Harper not intend to renew national health care agreements?

    • 4/5 Media Release: Health Network Welcomes New Budget: Still Much More to Be Done for Public Health Care

      Halifax, NS – The Nova Scotia Citizen’s Health Care Network is pleased with the provincial budget tabled yesterday in the legislature. The government has provided funding for key initiatives to give Nova Scotians better public health care. Universal dental care was extended for children from age 10 to 13, insulin pumps will be funded for children aged 19 and under, there are new funds for an eating disorders program at the IWK in Halifax, and the budget expands mental health funding.

    • 3/21 Media Release: Federal Budget Lacks Leadership on Public Health Care

      The federal budget tabled today in the House of Commons missed many opportunities to improve public health care and will leave thousands of Canadians waiting for care, says the Nova Scotia Citizen’s Health Care Network.

    • Get Involved! – National Health Care Lobby Week April 8th

      The Nova Scotia Citizen’s Health Care Network is joining with medicare allies across the country to organize a national lobby during the week of April 8th to ask Members of Parliament to support the 2014 Health Accord.

      So far the Harper government has ignored the call of premiers to talk about the state of health care in Canada. Instead, Finance Minister Flaherty dictated to the premiers that the Canada Health Transfer will be cut by $36 billion after the next election (budget 2016/2017).

    • March 6/12 Op-Ed- Pay More, Get Less: Private health care wrong way to go

      Published in The Chronicle Herald March 6th, 2013
      By John Hutton and Adrienne Silnicki

      It is disappointing that NDP Health Minister Dave Wilson has chosen to renew a government contract with Scotia Surgery. The contract, worth $1 million to the for-profit clinic to perform 500 surgeries per year, raises a lot of unanswered questions. Beyond the questionable ethics of making medically necessary care a for-profit business, one has to ask if renewing the contract, intended to reduce wait lists, is an efficient use of the public’s health care dollars. Given the poor track record of private-public partnerships in Canada, intense scrutiny and broad public consultation are warranted.

    • Job Posting: Provincial Co-ordinator

      Nova Scotia Citizen’s Health Care Network

      Job Posting: Provincial Co-ordinator

    • November 22/12 – Media Release: Great Day for Patients’ Rights and the Future of Medicare in Nova Scotia

      For Immediate Release
      November 22, 2012

      Great Day for Patients’ Rights and the Future of Medicare in Nova Scotia

       

      Halifax, NS – The new Insured Health Services Act is the most progressive change to health law in decades, says the Nova Scotia Citizens’ Health Care Network.

       

      “Today is a great day of patients’ rights and the future of Medicare in Nova Scotia,” says Kyle Buott, Provincial Coordinator of the Health Network. “The new law bans queue-jumping while reinforcing the bans on direct billing, extra-billing and user fees in health care.”

       

      The changes reaffirm the province’s commitment to the five principles of the Canada Health Act – Universality, Accessibility, Portability, Comprehensives and Public Administration. It creates new, though limited, appeal mechanisms for patients.  The new law will help move more physicians off fee-for-service payments and onto alternatives payment plans – this is good for both patients and physicians.Theres More…

Older Media Releases

 

Download article as PDF