Being a small East Coast province in the pandemic is a double-edged sword: there are fewer critically ill patients, but the supply of hospital beds is limited if the worst-case scenario materializes. “We will have fewer beds, but we will have a lower population density too,” said Dr.
Ward Patrick, the head of critical care at the Nova Scotia Health Authority — the biggest health agency in Atlantic Canada. The 60-year-old veteran of intensive care medicine said in an interview his teams have access to an existing supply of 120 intensive care beds province-wide — each equipped with ventilators and staffed by specialized health workers.