"I have raised this issue in the past and it is my understanding that there are still some serious problems in the department which are causing some serious issues for some of the poorest people in our society and their children," said Butler. "It was only a few weeks ago when we received confirmation that the backlogs at HRLE were causing serious problems for Children needing medical treatment at the Janeway."

The Liberal Critic was referring to a letter written to the Director of Income Support which was written on behalf of the social workers at the Janeway Child Health Centre to express concern regarding the difficulties they were encountering over the last seven months in obtaining services for their clients and their families. "When children who need medical service can’t get it because of administrative problems within a government, then it is a serious problem. The Minister should be called upon to explain why these problems developed and why it has taken her so long to deal with it. This is not a problem that can be blamed on things like sick leave, this is a long standing problem that I warned the Minister about months ago and she did not act."

The Letter outlines specific problems and said, "There have been considerable delays in getting services approved, which has on a number of occasions  impacted the delivery of health care to our patients." It was also noted that "These delays are having a tremendous impact on the physical and emotional well being of our patients."

"I asked questions on this matter during the last session of the House of Assembly and I have spoken out on the issue publicly on several occasions," said Butler. "I don’t intend to stop asking questions about this issue until I get confirmation these problems are being dealt with. So far, all the department has come up with are half-hearted attempts to save face that even in the best case scenario would see such problems continue to exist for at least another two months."