MCNEIL: ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE DETERIORATING UNDER NDP
Date: Friday December 11, 2009

(Halifax, NS) Liberal leader Stephen McNeil says the loss of a
dedicated nurse practitioner in Digby Neck exemplifies the lack of
progress made by the NDP government around the province’s strained
healthcare system.

“In six months, the NDP has not meaningfully addressed the perilous
state of healthcare in Nova Scotia,” stated McNeil. “This government
sat on its hands and simply watched as a qualified and deeply-rooted
nurse practitioner was forced to leave our province for Manitoba. The
NDP has turned their back on the people of Digby Neck and the
Islands.”

The Liberal leader says the hiring of a part-time provincial ER
coordinator has made little impact and in no way improves access for
those Nova Scotians struggling to maintain quality, consistent
healthcare. What was once a full-time clinic in Digby Neck, he says, is
now being sporadically staffed.

“This is a government that came to power on repeated promises to fix
the healthcare system and to keep all ERs open 24 hours a day, seven
days a week,” says McNeil. “The fact is, under the NDP, more of Nova
Scotia’s emergency rooms are closing and they’re closing more often.


“The people of Nova Scotia may have gained an ER coordinator two days
a week, but we’ve lost a valuable and respected frontline medical
professional,” said McNeil. “That’s not progress in my book.”

-30-