Fixing Healthcare? - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : My question is for the Premier. Last Sunday, a 78-year-old man in Halifax suffered a fall in Point Pleasant Park. His wife, Donna McInnis, explained to us that he waited immobile on the asphalt, exposed to the hazard of traffic passing by, shivering with muscle spasms and in pain, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., before an ambulance came to take him away on a stretcher. Despite being less than four kilometres from an emergency department, it was discovered when paramedics arrived two and a half hours later that they had come from Milford in East Hants. Mr. Speaker, why has the Premier allowed our EHS system to deteriorate?
THE PREMIER « » : Those are certainly heartbreaking stories. Unfortunately, there are a few of them, and there continues to be a few of them. I want to assure the member and all Nova Scotians that we're working hard to improve the EHS system. That's why we've hired 180 transport drivers. The number of transports that are happening in the province that no longer require a fully-trained paramedic - that number is down by three-quarters. That frees up paramedics to make calls.
We know there's a lot of work to do. We'll continue to do that, but those stories are certainly heartbreaking, for sure.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Like doctors, we also just need more paramedics. Earlier this year, a representative from the province's paramedics union told media that: "Our paramedics are some of the most highly skilled and trained in North America, and yet they're some of the lowest paid. It's easy to see why we are bleeding paramedics to other professions and other jurisdictions." I'll table that.
The Minister of Health and Wellness told this House that both recruiting and retaining paramedics is critical to reducing ambulance wait times. My question for the Premier is: Can he see that Nova Scotia will continue to lose paramedics to other provinces unless they are adequately compensated and supported by this government?
THE PREMIER « » : Certainly, compensation is part of the equation. There are other parts to the equation as well. That's why we've taken a number of steps around the licensing of paramedics to get them working quicker. That's why we've taken some policy changes to make the drop-offs at emergency rooms quicker and more efficient. The transport system - I can't stress enough what an improvement that has been. Paramedics have reached out to me. They're not always shy to give their frank feedback, but they're reaching out to me and saying these steps are helping.
It will take time. These steps are part of it. Compensation is part of. There are a lot of parts to the equation. We're focused on every single part of the equation.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : The numbers don't lie. Ambulance response times have gotten longer and longer despite the direct transfer system instituted this Spring. The average off-load times are climbing as well. Whatever this government is doing is not working. This government ran on an election promise to fix health care. When will we see the results?
THE PREMIER « » : It's very easy to get impatient. There's no question about that. I ask Nova Scotians to trust the people working on the front lines of health care, who are bending over backwards to fix a system, to fix the foundations of a system that has been very broken. We have to fix those foundations, and then we can build up from there.
It will take time. I've always been clear with Nova Scotians on that. I wish it was faster. There's a lot of work to be done. To say that things that are taking place aren't working is disrespectful to our health care professionals, who are actually driving that change. I support those health care professionals. I know it's easy to get impatient, but there's work to be done and we're doing it.