(December 2, 2021) – Paul Dinn, PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Health and Community Services and MHA for Topsail-Paradise, today expressed a need for urgency on the growing crisis in our healthcare system which has already reached its breaking point.

A CBC Investigates report, published today, outlines repeated “Code 111” situations at both the Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare’s emergency rooms this summer. These “Code 111” situations occur when emergency rooms are critically understaffed and/or there simply isn’t room left for patients.

“The revelations in today’s report are only the latest in a long list of examples of just how serious our healthcare crisis is. Surgical interventions are cancelled, patients are waiting up to 31 hours for a hospital bed, staff are critically short, and an ‘unprecedented’ number of patients show up at our emergency rooms,” said Dinn.

“A St. John’s doctor indicated that due to the inability of people to see a doctor patients are becoming sicker – some past the point of saving. Think about that: some past the point of saving due to overcrowding in our hospitals.”

During the Fall sitting of the House of Assembly, the PC Caucus brought forward a motion to hold an emergency debate on the state of our healthcare system – a motion the Liberal government voted down.

Premier Furey and Minister Haggie have repeatedly refused to acknowledge that the Newfoundland and Labrador healthcare system is in crisis. Instead, according to Dinn, they simply repeat rehearsed lines in the public to downplay the critical situation.

“We’ve repeatedly asked the Premier and Minister to acknowledge the dire state of our healthcare system, and we continue to get the same canned answers to our questions. How bad does this situation have to get, for both patients and our dedicated healthcare professionals, before the Premier and Minister resolve these issues?” said Dinn.

“Yes, the Health Accord will lay out a plan for health care but action is required now. Our healthcare crisis can no longer be ignored. It’s up to the Premier to demand his Ministers address these issues or find someone that will.”

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca