Glavine: ER Closures Getting More Frequent at Soldier’s Memorial
Kings West MLA Leo Glavine is expressing concern that the frequency of ER closures at Soldier’s Memorial is increasing and the NDP government is not addressing the problem.
Since June 1, the ER at Soldier’s Memorial has been closed for 98 hours; including 26 hours on a weekend where 1,000 individuals from all over Southwestern Nova Scotia participated in the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
“For the first fifteen days in June, the ER at Soldier’s Memorial was closed for four days,” said Glavine. “The district sites physician unavailability as the cause of the problem – the reality is the Dexter government has done nothing to address the province’s doctor shortage since taking office.
Glavine says the Liberals have a two-step plan to address the province’s physician shortage.
“First, you need to develop a database that will help manage the current pool of available doctors – it would help manage moving doctors from one area into another part of the province to cover temporary doctor shortages,” says Glavine. “The second thing we need to do is train more doctors for our underserviced communities.”
Glavine says the Liberals have introduced a bill that would hire 100 new doctors over five years for underserviced communities in Nova Scotia.
“A Liberal government would cover the education costs for 20 doctors for five years as long as those doctors are willing to serve in the communities most in need of help,” says Glavine. “We’ve tabled this bill numerous times and the Dexter government and past Conservative governments have blocked our efforts to bring new doctors to the people who need them the most.”
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