For Immediate Release
23 September, 2021
Responding to conflicting statements made by the Minister of Health, John Haggie, and Eastern Health, NDP MHA Jordan Brown is outlining another example of how this Liberal government in St. John’s fails to understand the unique realities facing Labradorians. Eastern Health has stated that it recently took 31 hours to complete a request for a neonatal medevac to St. John’s, due to a lack of specially trained staff. As a result, Brown does not accept the Minister’s suggestion in an interview this week that medivac services are available 24/7.
“I was very disappointed to hear the Minister of Health spread misinformation on ‘Labrador Morning’ yesterday with respect to medical evacuations being available 24/7,” said Brown. “Labradorians know the difference and this is another example of our people being an afterthought to this government. We only see them act to make the bad press go away, or when there’s a PR photo opportunity for something we’ve demanded that they finally get around to doing.”
In the Minister’s explanation of why abysmal access to medical services for Labradorians continues, he pointed to delays in receiving the Health Accord from the government’s consultants. MHA Brown and his caucus colleagues are again calling on the Minister of Health to acknowledge the acute need to address staffing issues across the province, and introduce a comprehensive human resources plan for health for the long term.
“I cannot understand why the Minister holds steadfast in his refusal to act until the Health Accord is completed, when every health union in this province has told him that their members are burning out and are not able to provide 24/7 service,” Brown said today. “This is another example of how Labrador and its people are an ‘out of sight out of mind’ group to this government, given the outright falsehoods they broadcast in Labrador.”
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For further information, contact Eddy St. Coeur, Director of Communications, NDP Caucus at 729-2137 (o), or eddystcoeur@gov.nl.ca