FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2024
Statement from Matt MacFarlane on the King government’s attempts – finally – to help PCH’s struggling critical care unit
Charlottetown, PE – In a recent media story regarding the ongoing concerns at the Prince County Hospital (PCH) Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the King government commented that it takes doctors’ concerns “very seriously.” Unfortunately, in my relatively short tenure as MLA, I have witnessed the exact opposite.
In May 2023, Islanders received the devastating news that one of the province’s only two ICUs was being shut down due to a lack of internists. What we didn’t know at the time was that several physicians, including the two internists who ultimately left, had pleaded for changes to their unsustainable schedules for almost a year prior. The King government did not take the doctors’ concerns seriously, and because of this, the internists left PEI and Islanders lost many critical care services at the PCH that have yet to return more than a year later
Since then, the King government has consistently shown that it does not take doctors’ concerns seriously. During the spring sitting, I had the pleasure of working with an ER doctor from the PCH who came forward with the small but significant change of removing the sick notes requirement. This was endorsed by doctors nationwide and the evidence showed it would help ease the burden of doctors across the Island. I sat with this ER doctor on the floor of the legislature and witnessed firsthand the disregard this government, notably the Premier, has for doctors. Despite this being a common sense solution directly from the frontline, Premier King and his Ministers voted the bill down.
Since day one in the legislature, I shared with government various solutions that were brought to me directly from frontline healthcare staff. Unfortunately, every idea was shot down.
The two things I hear about consistently from frontline healthcare staff are the damage caused by the unfair retention bonuses that were paid to some healthcare workers and not others and the overly complicated and long hiring process. I asked the Minister of Health Mark McLane to give retention bonuses to all healthcare staff who didn’t receive one, but this was voted down. I asked Minister McLane to do a review of our healthcare hiring process, but this was voted down.
So now, after all this time, government seems to be showing a newfound sense of priority towards the PCH and addressing doctors’ and nurses’ concerns. If government had only taken these concerns seriously in the first place, the PCH ICU might still be there helping critically ill Islanders. It took nothing short of hundreds of Islanders showing up to a town hall, a lost by-election, and slipping polls to get the King government’s attention. Islanders deserve better.
Matt MacFarlane
Third Party Critic for Health
MLA Borden-Kinkora
-30-
For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca