The Ministry of Health says it has started talks with the College of Nurses of Ontario and other healthcare groups about a further expanded role for nurse practitioners.
A ministry says the proposed changes include
- providing faster care for someone in cardiac arrest by allowing nurse practitioners to order and apply a defibrillator, which provides an electric shock to help restore a person’s regular heartbeat.
- making it faster for people to receive care if their heart isn’t beating regularly by allowing nurse practitioners to order and apply cardiac pacemaker therapy.
- help people with skin conditions and lesions such as skin tags get them removed faster by allowing nurse practitioners to order and perform electrocoagulation.
- complete and sign mandatory blood testing forms for specific infectious diseases.
The ministry notes that it is also consulting on nurse practitioners having the ability to sign off on death certificates.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones says expanding their scope of practice would provide patients access to care faster.
“By considering changes to allow nurse practitioners to provide more care to their patients, we will connect more people to convenient primary care, while reducing the need for referrals to other providers,” states Jones.
The Ministry provides no timetable for the consultations.
