Health Minister Maureen MacDonald is urging staff at overcrowded emergency departments in Dartmouth and Halifax to be patient.

The emergency room at Dartmouth General Hospital has been full since Tuesday. The hospital declared a Code Census, an alert used when there is a backlog of patients in the ER but they cannot be moved to other departments because of a lack of beds.

Across the harbour, the QEII Health Sciences Centre has declared a Code Census at least four times since Sept. 17.

MacDonald said help is on the way, but it's going to take time to fix what has become a chronic problem.

"We have to be patient," she said Thursday. "It will take a bit of time to solve. And we have the plan and we're starting to work toward that."

The health minister said she understands it's been a difficult time for ER staff.

"I know they, at the best of times, have a very difficult job to do. And certainly in these kinds of stressful conditions it's very difficult," she said.

The Nova Scotia government has hired an emergency room adviser to help solve the problem of ER overcrowding.