NDP Caucus to introduce Emergency Room Accountability Legislation

HALIFAX - The NDP Caucus will introduce legislation later this week that will require the government to report on the state of emergency rooms on a monthly basis.

“On every measure we can find, the Liberal government’s mismanagement of health care is abundantly clear,” said Gary Burrill, Leader of the NDP. “People without a family doctor are being forced to go to emergency rooms to access the care they need. Seniors are stranded in hospital beds when they should be in long-term care. Ambulances are backed up outside the hospitals. Our people deserve better.”

The bill includes requirements for the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK to report monthly on things like the number of people who leave the ER without being seen, and on how many people show up at the ER without a family doctor. An NDP Caucus Freedom of Information request shows that the number of people at the ER without a family doctor has gone up 112 percent province-wide under the Liberal government.

“The situation is getting worse not better,” said Tammy Martin, NDP Health and Wellness spokesperson. “Stephen McNeil and the Liberals refuse to listen to the solutions being proposed by communities, doctors, paramedics and nurses.”

Natalie Brown is an HRM resident and frequently visits the ER due to a chronic health condition.

“In January I ended up in the QEII emergency room and the scene that unfolded was the worst I have ever seen,” said Brown. “The state of our emergency rooms is deteriorating and the government isn’t doing anything about it.”

Some hospitals report even more dramatic increases in visits by patients without a family doctor from 2013 to 2018. The Dartmouth General saw an increase of 217 per cent. The Colchester Regional saw an increase of 257 per cent and the Valley Regional saw the highest increase at almost 265 per cent.

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