The Nova Scotia government is overhauling the province's health-care system over the next three years.

The government accepted all 103 recommendations contained in a consultant's report into the province's health-care system that will affect everyone from consumers to doctors and nurses.

The report found that the health-care system in the province is "at a crisis point" and "stressed to capacity."

Premier Rodney MacDonald said Thursday that while he accepts all the recommendations, he doesn't believe the system is in "full crisis."

"I've full confidence in our professionals and the health care they are giving. What I do believe is that we need to make better use of our medical professionals and that's why the need for a clinical review," he said.

"I do believe that we need better procedures and I do believe we need to change the way we are doing things."

MacDonald said the overhaul would focus on four key areas:

• Helping people stay healthy.
• Addressing the changing needs of seniors.
• Supporting health professionals.
• Investing for better results.

"We are now at a turning point in the history of health care in our province," the premier said.

The report titled, Changing Nova Scotia's Healthcare System: Creating Sustainability Through Transformation,  recommends setting up seven task forces to focus on areas of the system. The aim is get as many Nova Scotians as possible involved in redesigning health care in the province.

The task forces would focus on areas of the system such as what services should be available in certain hospitals and perhaps designating some regional centres.

The B.C.-based company that prepared the report, Corpus Sanchez International, said not all small hospitals should be providing emergency care — suggesting that most ERs are used as substitutes for doctors' offices because there aren't enough family doctors.

There are no plans to close emergency rooms in rural Nova Scotia, but there will be changes in the way they function.

Health Minister Chris D'Entremont said the intent of the changes is to shift money away from what is seen as an over-reliance on acute care, to community and personal health initiatives.

The report found that Nova Scotia's health-care system is too heavily reliant on hospital-based care, which is the most expensive way to provide health care.

There are 39 hospitals in the province serving a population of just over one million people.

Janet Hazelton, president of the Nova Scotia Nurses' Union, said the government doesn't seem to have a plan to make real changes to the system, and failed to talk to nurses about the recommendations.

"I agree there needs to be changes. I agree we need to look at delivering health maybe differently in this province. I agree that we have to have Nova Scotians more healthy. I agree with most of what he said, moving it out to the community. I'm all about that," she said.

"But I also agree that you have to talk to the people delivering the service. You need to ask our opinions on how this is going to happen."

Nova Scotia's health care budget is about $3.2 billion, out of total expenditures of $7.3 billion.