(April 28, 2022) – Paul Dinn, PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Health and Community Services and MHA for Topsail-Paradise, echoes the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA) reference to the backlog for surgery in the metro region which continues to grow, with little action from government to address the problem.

“The NLMA says almost 6,800 surgeries are on the waitlist in the Metro area alone, with little change since the association last reported in March. Over 200 of the delayed surgeries involve cancer treatment. This crisis cannot be overstated,” said Dinn.

“The NLMA has four clear, direct solutions to assist in bringing this backlog down, yet to date, there is no evidence from government the recommendations are being acted upon. When solutions are presented by experts with first-hand experience, it’s incumbent on government to sit up and listen. Instead, this government continues to hold an adversarial relationship with the NLMA. It is not good enough.”

Dinn says establishing an online dashboard to monitor surgery backlogs is a simple way to show the public progress is being made in this ongoing, difficult situation.

“Again and again we see calls to action and specific recommendations seeming to fall on deaf ears. Illnesses do not wait for staffing issues to be resolved. It’s incumbent on government to listen to the experts and bring forward solutions to help the situation today,” said Dinn.

“Our healthcare crisis will not improve until we see this government take meaningful action, not to try and score their next photo-op. It’s critical to see progress on bringing down the surgery backlog and this government has not taken the action necessary to see this situation improve.”

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca