NSHA Central Zone - Anesthesia Dept.

The Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine is a clinical and academic Department affiliated with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine and two health authorities: Nova Scotia Health (NSH) and IWK Health Centre, in Nova Scotia.  Academic services (education and research) are also offered in conjunction with Horizon Health in New Brunswick.

Created in 1945, the Department has grown to provide a full spectrum of clinical services and administers leading edge programs in perioperative medicine, perioperative blood management, acute and chronic pain management and regional anesthesia. Subspecialty practice includes adult chronic pain management, blood management, pediatric anesthesia, airway management, thoracic anesthesia, women’s and obstetric anesthesia, regional and acute pain service, cardiac anesthesia and perioperative transesophageal echocardiography, liver transplantation, neuroanesthesia, and pre-anesthesia.

The Department comprises over 100 anesthesiologists who perform more than 49,000 procedures annually at six main facilities in Nova Scotia:

  • IWK Health Centre
  • NSH - QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax Infirmary (HI) site
  • NSH - QEII Health Sciences Centre , Victoria General (VG) site
  • NSH -Dartmouth General Hospital
  • NSH- Hants Community Hospital, Windsor
  • NSH- Scotia Surgery, Dartmouth

The Department is also affiliated with anesthesia services at the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick through Horizon Health, for teaching and research purposes.

Our Vision, Mission, and Values

The Department has the following vision, mission and values:

Vision: A culture of excellence in anesthesia clinical practice and programs, research and education.

Mission: To deliver anesthesia services through up-to-date clinical care based on the latest evidence (research) and knowledge (education).

Values: The Department believes that:

  • patients are entitled to safe, evidence-informed, humanistic care
  • staff and faculty well-being is foundational to the department’s success
  • life-long learning is a prerequisite to safe, competent care and professional, compassionate clinicians
  • scholarly curiosity is fundamental to the improvement and enhancement of patient care
  • stewardship of local and global resources is a departmental responsibility
  • transparency and accountability, in combination with creative thinking and leadership, are imperative to the department’s quest for excellence