The IWK has transitioned its Perinatal Clinic (PNC) to a new space at Richmond Yards in Halifax. The new clinic opens Monday and offers a larger, more accessible space designed for high-quality perinatal care, including primary maternity care and high-risk obstetrical care. The clinic’s care team includes perinatal nurses, physicians, nutritionists, physiotherapists and social workers. The perinatal centre sees roughly 100 patients each day and 25,000 visits annually. “We deliver approximately 50 per cent of the births in the province of Nova Scotia,” says IWK women’s and newborn health director Christine Pritchett. “The IWK is really tight for space at the hospital site. The perinatal centre had completely outgrown its footprint,” says Mellissa Mackie, IWK perinatal centre clinical manager. “Patients really struggled to park on the main site... the number of exam rooms we had was a challenge,” she adds. “The team at the IWK’s Perinatal Clinic has always been dedicated to providing quality care to women and gender diverse populations and it will continue as we move to our new location,” says Dr. Jim Bentley, head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, in a news release. The new space provides five additional exam rooms, an additional intake room and expanded pregnancy and diabetes spaces. “Transitioning the PNC out of the standard hospital space and into the community is part of IWK’s efforts to make care more accessible and integrated,” reads the IWK news release. “We hear from our patients and families access to care, long wait times and not being able to add more examination rooms in the current location at the IWK really forced us to look outside the main campus and come within community,” says LeeAnn Larocque, chief nurse executive. “Sometimes walking into a big hospital environment can be very intimidating and anxiety provoking and so what we want to do is create a calm environment,” Larocque adds. She says the clinic’s transition is part of a broader mandate to start looking at services that could better serve patients within the area that they live. “We really want to be more involved and integrated into the community. It increases access to care for patients, and they actually feel more comfortable,” Larocque says. The clinic is by referral only, so affected patients were notified about the transition out of the hospital space. The Adult Infusion Clinic, which provides services for referred obstetrical and gynecology patients, has also moved to the new space. With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Emma Convey For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
