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Nouman Ali says he was left frustrated and concerned when he couldn’t get an urgently required bloodwork appointment for weeks in the Halifax area.
Ali is one of a number of patients who have reached out to CBC News, expressing their exasperation in trying to get a blood test since the province launched a new electronic medical records system in its central zone.
Last week, Ali was given an urgent requisition by his doctor to investigate a health problem, but he couldn’t get in for an appointment.
“The whole month of June is booked,” he said. “Finally I was able to get something on June 20, but I have to travel to Windsor to do that.”
Nova Scotia Health reduced the number of blood collection appointments by half in the central zone after the May 9 expansion of the new health-care management system One Person One Record, also known as OPOR.
The health authority says it is now gradually increasing the number of bookings as staff continue to adjust to the new system.
OPOR was first launched in December at the IWK Health Centre, where it took several months for the blood collection clinic to return to capacity.
A nurse at the IWK uses the One Person One Record computer system. (Carolyn Ray/CBC)
Ali said his doctor urged him to visit a clinic in person to see if staff could fit him in.
He said he was turned away even though the waiting room was empty and was told to call to book over the phone.
“The flexibility is not there. She refused to accept me,” he said. “I went there with a headache. I left with more headache after that.”
In a statement, Nova Scotia Health said it increased the number of appointments by 10 per cent last week, and will continue to do so every week until the blood collection system is back to capacity.
Its target date is June 24.
“People are encouraged to continue checking appointment availability online, as new appointments will be added regularly,” the statement said.
It said those with urgent needs should call 902-473-2074 or 1-833-942-2298.
Ali said more needs to be done to get the word out to the public. He said he has had no problem booking appointments in the past.
“I thought maybe with the new system we’d have some improvement, but we seem to be going back to the old style to use phone calls to book an appointment.”
He’s questioning why a program that cost the province $365 million required any slowdowns at all.
“When you spend that much money, it should be a system that should be able to run properly.”
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