Minister silent about Cobequid Health Centre following worst day on record: NDP

SACKVILLE –On Wednesday, Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender, Sackville-Cobequid MLA Paul Wozney and NDP Health Critic Rod Wilson called on the Houston government to address the dire situation at the Cobequid Community Health Centre.

Two weeks ago, Wozney wrote to Health Minister Michelle Thompson after a Cobequid emergency room doctor called him in a panic during their shift. The doctor said the emergency room had faced its worst day on record, with overcrowding and patients – including one who had suffered a stroke – being turned away. Minister Thompson has yet to respond.

“No front-line health care worker wants to turn a patient away, but that’s the horrible situation that the Houston government’s inaction has put them in,” said NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender. “This government was elected on a promise to fix health care, but Nova Scotians are still waiting for the care they deserve. No one knows that better than the people of Sackville. For years, they have heard this government promise a new health centre with more capacity and longer hours. So far, there has been radio silence from this government as the situation gets worse. Nova Scotians deserve better than this.”

“Health-care workers are scared for their patients. They’re doing everything they can under the circumstances, but they’re being pushed beyond their limits while the Houston government sits on its promise to deliver better health care at The Cobequid,” said Wozney. “When people in our community are being turned away from the emergency room, it shakes their sense of safety and it jeopardizes their health. Families in Sackville and across Nova Scotia need to know that when they need care, they’ll get it. They can’t count on that right now and that’s just not acceptable.”

When asked about the Cobequid Health Centre during budgetary estimates in March 2023, the Minister of Health said that the government was planning to expand the Cobequid Health Centre with in-patient beds as well as a 24-hour emergency. Despite the Progressive Conservatives campaigning in Sackville on promises to upgrade the Cobequid Community Health Centre in the last two provincial elections – families and staff are still waiting.

“Nova Scotians were promised a health-care system they could rely on. Instead, wait times across the province are horrific, patients are in pain for hours, and staff are struggling because they can’t give people the care they know they deserve,” added NSNDP Health Critic Rod Wilson. “Communities like Sackville are being left behind while the system gets harder for both patients and workers. The Houston government needs to stop making announcements and start delivering results.”

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