A novel report on emergency care in the province is claimed to have recommended introduction of a spate of changes for some rural emergency departments in a view to reduce the waiting time faced by people in referring their family doctor.

In addition, it orders to introduce new ways of paying doctors.

Over 90 % of visits to small emergency departments could well be seen in a clinic, and most happen in the day or evening, found the study lead author Dr. John Ross, who hails more than 20 years of emergency experience.

The report, unleashed yesterday outlined that 12 hospitals in the province should think of giving away with its 24-7 emergency rooms, and instead shift to a collaborative assessment model.

Accessing primary care has always been an issue across the province, outlined Ross. However, if the scenario is improved, the emergency departments in 12 bigger and 26 smaller hospitals would be significantly relieved of their pressure.

"There are certain centres where they need to be open 24-7, for sure. There are other places where I think we can offer some options, and options would be variable hours, different types of on-call systems", pointed Ross.