Anesthetic Services Program Encompassing Nova Scotia (ASPENS)
The Anesthetic Services Program Encompassing Nova Scotia (ASPENS) is a provincial program administered by the Department of Anesthesia that aims to support anesthesiologists in hospitals and health centres across Nova Scotia to provide, safe, high-quality anesthesia care.
ASPENS provides advice, education, consultation and quality assurance reviews, and has a mandate to advocate for anesthesia and, in so doing, influence provincial policy decisions.
The list of specific issues wherein ASPENS can act as an advocate, include:
- the highest standards of patient care;
- a greater profile for anesthesia as a specialty;
- self-contained departments of anesthesia that are allocated appropriate budgets and the accountability for managing those budgets;
- changes in practice, e.g. higher prevalence of regional anesthesia;
- a province-wide system of centralized anesthesia reporting and recording;
- and more.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Gregory Dobson
Phone: 902.473.4326
