Emergency Mental Health cases are seen immediately. If you are facing a crisis, call the Mental Health Crisis Line at 1-888-429-8167, or call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Mental Health & Addictions Adult Services
Service/Procedure Summary
Wait-times for Community Mental Health and Addictions
The Department of Health and Wellness, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), and the IWK Health Centre are working together to improve access to mental health and addictions care and support for Nova Scotians. We are committed to having the right services, in the right place, at the right time, and delivered by the right provider for patients.
In 2018-19 we are standardizing the way we collect and report wait-times for Community Mental Health and Addictions clinic appointments. Wait time standards have been chosen and waits will be reported online by triage level.
A person’s triage level is determined by their condition as assessed by clinicians working in intake or referral. In providing care and treatment based on clinical assessment, people triaged as urgent receive care before people triaged as non-urgent.
- Triage 1: Emergency, no wait--patients immediate access to care through emergency or crisis services
- Triage 2: Urgent, target is within seven days
- Triage 3: Non-Urgent, target is within 28 days
Wait Times
Urgent
Facility | 90% (Wait 1) | 50% (Wait 1) | 90% (Wait 2) |
50% (Wait 2)![]() |
---|---|---|---|---|
NSHA Eastern Zone |
7 days |
6 days |
7 days |
0 days |
NSHA Northern Zone |
6 days |
1 day |
8 days |
4 days |
NSHA Central Zone |
6 days |
3 days |
7 days |
5 days |
NSHA Western Zone |
6 days |
4 days |
--- |
--- |
Non-Urgent
Facility | 90% (Wait 1) | 50% (Wait 1) | 90% (Wait 2) |
50% (Wait 2)![]() |
---|---|---|---|---|
South Shore Regional clinics |
20 days |
12 days |
22 days |
0 days |
Yarmouth Regional clinics |
28 days |
11 days |
17 days |
0 days |
Guysborough Antigonish clinics |
156 days |
93 days |
28 days |
7 days |
Lower Sackville clinic |
139 days |
114 days |
25 days |
12 days |
Windsor clinic |
160 days |
76 days |
28 days |
13 days |
Spryfield clinic |
117 days |
39 days |
28 days |
13 days |
Cole Harbour clinic |
75 days |
48 days |
25 days |
14 days |
Cape Breton Regional Municipality |
153 days |
118 days |
34 days |
14 days |
NSHA Clinical Virtual Care Team |
75 days |
41 days |
40 days |
14 days |
Halifax - Bayers Road clinic |
129 days |
78 days |
27 days |
14 days |
Dartmouth - Portland Street clinic |
123 days |
84 days |
28 days |
15 days |
Aberdeen Regional clinics |
82 days |
44 days |
70 days |
16 days |
Valley Regional clinics |
34 days |
24 days |
26 days |
22 days |
Rural Cape Breton clinics |
104 days |
54 days |
34 days |
23 days |
Cumberland County clinics |
40 days |
31 days |
124 days |
32 days |
Colchester Regional clinics |
28 days |
20 days |
246 days |
103 days |