Summerside, PE – Since being appointed to the Health and Wellness portfolio, Minister Aylward has been talking about all the conversations he has been having with community and stakeholders. However, evidence seems to show this has not really been the case. Announcements and promises being made demonstrate a lack of understanding regarding what is needed, the appropriate timelines to implement those commitments, and even what is actually possible.
“During last week’s meeting of the Standing Committee for Health and Social Development, we learned representatives of the Department of Health and Wellness had advised South Shore Inc. it would not be recruiting a doctor for the Crapaud clinic. The reason given was policy to recruit to general areas of the province based upon the three counties,” said Trish Altass, Official Opposition Critic for Health and Wellness. “They even advised South Shore Inc. not to independently advertise for the vacancy at their clinic.”
The day after the meeting, Minister Aylward made an announcement in the media the intention was always to specifically recruit a doctor for Crapaud. This abrupt change in message from the department is confusing Islanders.
There have been other instances of confusion and misinformation coming from the Minister of Health and Wellness. These include confusion around the TOSH registry, midwifery commitments, transgender health services, and what vision the government has for rural health hubs.
“No one has said solving the healthcare crisis would be easy. There is no simple solution to solve all the challenges we are facing,” said Altass. “However, it is impossible to make any progress if government is unable to understand the issues and clearly tell Islanders what the plan is. Government must start the hard work of providing evidence-based leadership and good governance within our healthcare system. It must stop playing political games with our health.”
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Jonathan Hamel
Director of Communications
Office of the Official Opposition
Tel: (902) 213-0718
Email: jdhamel@assembly.pe.ca
Related blog: Playing games with Islanders’ health (Trish Altass)