In the spring of 2024, Nova Scotia Health formed the Endoscopy Operations Council to help identify access barriers and opportunities to improve the quality, timeliness and consistency of endoscopy services across the province.
The council meets regularly and has identified some initial key priorities that build upon and compliment other investments and strategies being led to ensure more patients receive the quality endoscopy care they need sooner, such as investments in up-to-date equipment and new and updated spaces to deliver these services.
Key areas of focus for the Endoscopy Services Operations Council include:
Working groups and consultants are helping support these areas of focus and additional information and updates will be shared here as their work unfolds. Some of the activities to date includes:
Waitlist management
Efforts are underway to ensure complete and accurate endoscopy wait lists to support planning and care. This will ensure Nova Scotia Health teams have clear visibility into all patients awaiting care on various specialists' lists, along with how long they have been waiting; the priority level assigned by their specialist; and those patients who have been identified for scheduled re-checks.
Standardizing and enhancing the referral process
How patients are referred, triaged and booked for endoscopy services can vary by provider, specialties, sites and zones. This has contributed to inconsistent care, waitlist accuracy issues, duplicate referrals and other factors affecting timely and quality care. Team members are focused on standardizing referral processes and gathering information related to the current state to inform this work, which will include expanding the electronic referral tool (eReferral) used for surgery and diagnostic imaging, to include gastroenterologists.
Working groups involved gastroenterologists, general surgeons, primary care providers and others have begun meeting to gather information and inform this planning. Learn more about the expected benefits of gastroenterology eReferrals.
Endoscopy System Improvements
The Endoscopy System Analysis project examined the current state of Nova Scotia Health's endoscopy program, with the goal of improving equitable access to this procedure. The project team put forward six recommendations along with implementation plans for system improvement. These recommendations have been presented to the Clinical Operations Council, Executive Leadership, the Endoscopy Services Operations Council, and the Perioperative Services Network
As part of the Endoscopy System Analysis Key Recommendations, Nova Scotia Coded Access Targets for Endoscopy (NSCATs-E) is new, standardized set of booking codes for various non-urgent and scheduled endoscopy procedures. NSCATs-E was built collaboratively with endoscopists across the province representing all specialties and referenced similar approaches from other health systems in Canada. It has been endorsed by the Endoscopy Service Operations Council which includes administration and endoscopists from all zones across Nova Scotia Health.
Endoscopy Operations Council Membership - August 2026
Co-lead
- Andrew Munroe – Perioperative Network Leader, Endoscopy
Interim Co-lead
- Erica Mullaly – Interim Director, Endoscopy and Site Lead - Cobequid and Bayer's Lake Community Outpatient Centre – Central Zone
Members
- Andrew Young – Director, Perioperative & Pain Services – Eastern Zone
- Alana Toole – Director, Perioperative, Endoscopy and MDR Services – Northern Zone
- Brett MacDougall – VP Operations, Eastern Zone (ExOfficio)
- Catherine (Cathy Lynn) Howley – Senior Director, Clinical Networks – Perioperative & Surgical Services
- Claire Hanuschuk – Central Intake Manager
- Dr. Ahmed Elsheaita – Endoscopist – Western Zone
- Dr. Bruce Musgrave – Gastroenterologist/Internal Medicine & Endoscopist, Western Zone
- Dr. Chad Williams – Gastroenterologist/Internal Medicine & Endoscopist, Site Lead Endoscopy Dartmouth General Hospital – Central Zone
- Dr. Duane Sheppard - Gastroenterologist & Endoscopist - Northern Zone
- Dr. Eric Joy – General Surgeon & Endoscopist – Western Zone
- Dr. Geoff Williams – Gastroenterologist, Endoscopist and Co- Lead, Endoscopy, Central Zone
- Dr. Greg Hirsch – Senior Medical Director, Clinical Networks – Perioperative & Surgical Services
- Dr. Madelaine Plourde – Thoracic Surgeon, Endoscopist and Co- Lead, Endoscopy, Central Zone
- Dr. Martin Dzierzanowski - General Surgeon & Endoscopist - Northern Zone
- Dr. Michael J. Stewart – Gastroenterologist, Endoscopist and Physician Leader Colon Cancer Prevention Program
- Dr. Stephanie Lapierre – General Surgeon & Endoscopist – Eastern Zone
- Eileen Kilfoil – Manager, Cancer Screening Programs
- Erica Mullaly - Interim Director, Endoscopy and Site Lead - Cobequid and Bayer's Lake Community Outpatient Centre – Central Zone
- Gina Leaman – Director, Perioperative Services and Site Lead Yarmouth Regional Hospital – Western Zone
- Julia Rose – Senior Project Manager
- Krista Rigby – Director, Cancer Screening (Population Oncology)
- Krista Wood – Director, Care Delivery Communications
- Robin Lake - Director, Policy & Planning - Perioperative Network
- Sara Bates – Senior Analyst, Perioperative Services Policy and Planning
- Sarah Miles – Director, Policy & Planning - Perioperative Network
- Sean Smith – Senior Analyst, Operational Analytics
- Tracey Watkins-Allen – Executive Director Health Services, Regional Sites, Western Zone (ExOfficio)
