|
|||||
| Return to 2006 News Releases | |||||
|
|
News
Release |
||||
|
Joyce once again calls for a stop to the practice of moving
long-term care patients from Corner Brook March 15, 2006
|
|||||
|
Eddie Joyce, MHA for the District of Bay of Islands, is once again calling
on government to end the practice of shipping seniors from Corner Brook to
Port aux Basques to receive long-term care. Joyce says he is very
disappointed that government has decided to continue this practice which
stems from Recommendation 172 of the controversial Hay Report for the
Western Health Care Corporation. Recommendation 172 of the Hay Report Best Practices Review for the Western Health Care Corporation states that elderly people on the wait list for long-term care beds should be transferred to other communities in the western region until appropriate space is available in Corner Brook for their return transfer. "I am once again receiving calls from families that their parents and spouses are being shipped away from their family and friends in Corner Brook to live out their final years," said Mr. Joyce. "I raised this issue several times last year and thought this practice would be halted by government. It now appears they have decided to implement Recommendation 172 and continue this inhumane treatment of elderly people in the Corner Brook area. The Premier was against this type of treatment when in Opposition, I cannot understand why he supports it now. "With these moves, family and friends are expected to travel hours on the highway to see their loved ones. Some of these individuals are not able to make these trips due to budgetary constraints, weather, lack of transportation, and the inability to take time from work to make the five hour round trip. This is leaving several seniors alone in a hospital away from their known surroundings. This is nothing more than a cost-saving measure by the provincial government and the appropriate investment should be made to open the necessary ten beds to alleviate this problem. With the recent good news budgetary announcements, and an expected surplus in the upcoming budget, I am calling for an investment to be made in our seniors. "The Premier and Minister of Justice should stop hiding behind the Western Health Care Corporation on this issue. The Western Health Care Corporation was told by government to scrap recommendations from the Hay Report related to Stephenville. The same consideration should be extended to Recommendation 172 that treats seniors from Corner Brook in such an inhumane manner. For two local MHAs to sit idly by and allow this practice to continue is doing a disservice to the people they are supposed to be representing."
|
|||||
|
Media Contact: |
|||||
