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Opposition urges Premier to act as health crisis deepens
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Liberal Opposition Health and Community Services Critic and MHA for the District of Humber Valley, Dwight Ball, says it=s now time for the premier to get involved and engage new leadership to help address the growing crisis in health care, particularly as it relates to the botched radiology review on the Burin Peninsula. AUnfortunately Minister Wiseman=s style is to blame Eastern Health for the growing number of health care problems; ultimately, the minister should accept responsibility. In May the minister of health imposed a two-week time frame for the completion of this review which involved 3,500 patients. At that time I questioned whether this time frame was reasonable. Even radiologists in the province questioned whether those re-reads could be done in two weeks. Now that six weeks have passed, we learn today that the re-reads are far from complete. AThese latest developments are quite simply astounding and startling. It certainly shows the lack of leadership in the Department of Health and that the minister responsible for this troubled portfolio has failed to do the honourable thing and resign,@ says Ball. AIt is now morally incumbent on the premier to remove him from this position and provide the accountability his government often talks about and to provide the necessary leadership to restore public confidence in the health care system that has been badly shaken by this horrendous ordeal.@ The Liberal MHA says he is also concerned that no time line for completion of the remaining re-reads has been identified by government. AThose people affected have already gone several stressful months and now there is no end in sight to their worries and what effect the ultimate outcome may have on their individual health. Whatever the solutions, whether it is more radiologists or other resources B even if it means going out of the province, Ball stresses that it has to be dealt with immediately. AIt is clear that the minister has lost the confidence of the people of this province in providing quality health care leadership. If the premier is not seeing this with the same clarity, I fear things will only get worst.@
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