Houston government must address long waits for women’s health care: NDP

HALIFAX – Today, Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender wrote to Health Minister Michelle Thompson, calling on the Houston government to urgently address the waits women face for routine care, and to create a Women’s Health Strategy.

Women in the Halifax region are waiting over a year to get routine mammograms that people in other provinces are able to get in weeks. Nova Scotia has the second lowest rate of breast cancer screening in the country.

“It’s completely unacceptable that this government continues to ignore women’s concerns and leave people stressed and worried, waiting for scans that their doctors have recommended,” said Chender. “Women in our province are waiting over a year to get routine mammograms and can’t get the care they need, when they need it. It’s not a coincidence that in provinces where waits are only weeks instead of months the number of people getting the scans they need is much higher than in our province. This government has to address these ongoing issues in women’s health.”

In addition to extremely long waits for routine mammograms, women in our province wait nearly 3 times longer than other Canadians to get gynaecology care. It takes women living with chronic pain an average of two years to get an appointment at the Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Clinic, with many people waiting much longer. Pregnant Nova Scotians are currently only able to get one ultrasound in Halifax instead of the two recommended by the Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists of Canada.

“Women are fed up and want to know there’s a plan and that their needs aren’t being ignored,” said Chender. “Our province needs a Women’s Health Strategy to provide a clear road map for how this government is going to fix women’s healthcare in our province. It’s not too much for the women of Nova Scotia to expect that fixing healthcare means fixing healthcare for everyone.”

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