N.S. government awards untendered contract to examine home-care services

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N.S. government awards untendered contract to examine home-care services

Nova Scotia·NewThe Nova Scotia government has given an untendered contract worth almost $2.2 million to a consulting firm to examine ways to improve the delivery of home-care services in the province.Davis Pier gets 2-year, $2.2M contractMichael Gorman · CBC News · Posted: Oct 20, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes agoSeniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams says Davis Pier was selected for the work because the firm is already very familiar with the province’s home-care system. (Paul Poirier/CBC)The Nova Scotia government has given an untendered contract worth almost $2.2 million to a consulting firm to examine ways to improve the delivery of home-care services in the province.The Seniors and Long-Term Care Department awarded the two-year, $2.18-million contract to Halifax-based Davis Pier Consulting in July.Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams said her government eschewed the public tendering process because it wanted to act quickly and Davis Pier, which she said has a long relationship with the government, is already “very familiar” with the province’s home-care system.“Davis Pier is going to help us take home care to the next level,” Adams told reporters following a cabinet meeting on Thursday.A number of challengesHer government has “revolutionized long-term care” with the use of technology that allows for data collection to help make better decisions, Adams said, and she wants to see a similar approach applied to home care.There are “a number of challenges” in the sector, including scheduling and cancelled visits, said Adams. The minister said she always wants to see care providers performing less administrative work.“To make things far more efficient and effective and to improve communication, all of those things are what we are tasking them with helping us improve.”Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union president Janet Hazelton said the assessment is a good thing if it leads to a more efficient working environment for the people who provide home care.Front-line worker voicesAlong with concerns about cancelled visits and providers arriving at homes only to find the client is not there, Hazelton said another recurring frustration for her members is a lack of cohesion and co-ordination around visits.Among examples she’s heard, she cited one of a nurse based in Truro being sent to Shubenacadie for a visit, only to be sent back again a few hours after returning to Truro. It’s a 30-minute drive between the two communities.“Maybe two nurses going out to Louisbourg when one could have gone out and done the two visits,” Hazelton used as another example.There are also concerns about nurses arriving at homes before a client has gone through a pre-visit assessment to ensure the home is safe for the provider, said Hazelton.She said she’s hoping part of the work Davis Pier will do includes meeting with front-line providers and not just employer representatives.“I hope they visit and talk to the nurses and the other providers to find out what it is they need to be looking to fix.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORMichael Gorman covers the Nova Scotia legislature for CBC, with additional focuses on health care and rural communities. Contact him with story ideas at michael.gorman@cbc.ca

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