New Democrats urge action on long-delayed hospital projects, call for action plan

NEW WATERFORD –Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier MLA Kendra Coombes, with Official Opposition Health Critic Rod Wilson, are urging the Houston government to finally get to work on building and upgrading the health facilities Nova Scotians rely on.

Coombes and Wilson wrote to Health Minister Michelle Thompson after a doctor at the New Waterford Consolidated Hospital recently said he was reaching a “breaking point” and might leave the community if construction doesn’t begin on a new health-care complex promised more than eight years ago. In nearby Glace Bay, people have also been waiting more than eight years for upgrades to their hospital.

“Health-care workers are doing everything they can for their patients, but they’re being asked to work in deteriorating facilities with no answers about when things will get better. Workers are reaching a breaking point, people across Nova Scotia are struggling to access care, and this government doesn’t seem to have a plan,” said Coombes. “These delays are costing Cape Bretoners and Nova Scotians, and now we’re at risk of losing the health-care workers our communities depend on.”

New Democrats have long been raising the alarm about the state of hospitals in Nova Scotia, including the Cobequid Community Health Centre in Sackville, which is also long overdue for upgrades.

“The Houston government was elected five years ago on a promise to fix health care, but they still don’t have a clear plan for hospitals and emergency care. Now, Nova Scotians and health-care workers are paying the price,” said Wilson, who tabled a bill during the recent fall session of the Legislature to create an action plan to improve access to reliable emergency care across the province.

“We are urging this government to move forward with this strategy and work with health-care providers and community members to improve health care in our communities. Nova Scotians have waited long enough — the least this government can do is let them know what their plan is.”

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