(February 9, 2021) – PC Leader Ches Crosbie says the best healthcare is preventing illness at all, which is why overall wellness will be a key focus of a PC government.

“We need to be doing more to keep people from getting sick in the first place. Instead of a ‘sick’ care system, we need a ‘health’ care system that focuses on prevention and early intervention,” said Crosbie.

“That’s how our government will improve outcomes while reducing costs. That approach is a win-win for everyone." A PC Government will:

• Adopt the Choosing Wisely NL Approach to educate healthcare providers and patients about the appropriateness of various tests and procedures to minimize waste and harm in the healthcare system;

• Appoint a Chief Wellness Officer, a non-partisan public servant that will provide a strategic vision for how Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can achieve better overall wellness, which will lead to less reliance on the healthcare system in the general public in the long-term;

• Follow through on the PC Party’s 2019 commitment to a Premier’s Taskforce on Healthcare while ensuring a patient outcomes analysis on any decisions from the existing taskforce on healthcare;

• Develop a public registry of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to allow first responders to easily access the closest available unit in an emergency;

• Remove the age cap and ensure Medicare covers the cost of insulin pumps for persons with Type-1 Diabetes;

• Promote healthy living in the K-12 education system to ensure children get a healthy start in life with a curriculum focused on anti-smoking and anti-drug use practices, healthy eating, exercise and mental wellness.

“On all health care reforms, a PC Government will consult with the public sector unions, frontline workers, and health care advocates – because that is also a feature of a system that is “well” rather than “ill”. Reform must be driven from the bottom up rather than from the top down,” said Crosbie.

“It must be driven openly, not in the shadows behind closed doors and nondisclosure agreements. And that clearly distinguishes our approach from that of the Furey Liberals.”

Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Communications

(p) (709) 769-2216

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