Emergencies

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 Child and Adolescent 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
see more
Instructions - Instructional text.

Wait Times

Urgent

Facility 90% (Wait 1) 50% (Wait 1) 90% (Wait 2) 50% (Wait 2)
IWK
6 days
3 days
26 days
13 days
NSHA Western Zone
7 days
4 days
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NSHA Northern Zone
8 days
5 days
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NSHA Eastern Zone
7 days
6 days
7 days
6 days

Non-Urgent

Facility 90% (Wait 1) 50% (Wait 1) 90% (Wait 2) 50% (Wait 2)
Yarmouth Regional clinics
22 days
10 days
44 days
14 days
Windsor clinic
28 days
13 days
21 days
11 days
NSHA Clinical Virtual Care Team
39 days
14 days
26 days
13 days
South Shore Regional clinics
28 days
14 days
48 days
22 days
Valley Regional clinics
33 days
18 days
44 days
22 days
Guysborough Antigonish clinics
50 days
27 days
61 days
36 days
Cumberland County clinics
43 days
33 days
223 days
41 days
Colchester Regional clinics
56 days
40 days
376 days
107 days
Aberdeen Regional clinics
68 days
42 days
356 days
22 days
Rural Cape Breton clinics
64 days
50 days
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IWK
99 days
62 days
72 days
35 days
Cape Breton Regional Municipality
210 days
140 days
99 days
73 days

Reduce your wait time

Not all wait times are the same, and you may reduce your wait time for health care services. Explore options and talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner.

Talk to your primary care provider

Wait time information can help you and your primary care provider make informed decisions. Find wait times and share the numbers with your healthcare provider.