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NDP offers brilliant plan to solve health care crisis
by Scott Gilbreath ~ May 8th, 2009
The Nova Scotia election campaign is barely two days old, but already voters are knee-deep in political claptrap. The feeble health-care proposal from provincial NDP leader Darrel Dexter takes the cake—so far.
Mr Dexter has a series of brainstorms to alleviate recurrent closures of emergency rooms at Nova Scotia hospitals: Hire an “expert” advisor/co-ordinator to act as health-care czar, “consult” people affected by lack of medical services, and commit a potentially unlimited quantity of cash.
No government anywhere in Canada has ever tried any of that. Dexter must be a genius.
Leader Darrell Dexter said if he becomes premier, he will hire an adviser who will work to improve access to emergency care.
“This person will actually be in charge of co-ordinating resources right across the province to help keep emergency rooms open rather than what we have done over the last four years, which is closing emergency rooms,” he told reporters at a news conference at the NDP headquarters in Halifax.
One of the chief reasons emergency rooms have been closed is staff shortages, but Mr. Dexter said the adviser would be able to “engage the pool of health care professionals that exists right across the province.”
Mr. Dexter said there are also doctors outside of Nova Scotia who may want to come here.
The man is a true visionary.
The NDP leader said it may take money and other incentives to attract doctors to the province and says that is not included in the party’s $2.3-million plan.
Inevitably, a killjoy Conservative candidate pipes up.
Tory candidate George Jordan criticized the NDP for “hiring a planner to make a plan.”
He said the province needs front-line workers more than another bureaucrat.
Mr Jordan is not foolish enough to promise anything.
When pressed for the Tory plan, the Dartmouth South-Portland Valley candidate said the province has a proven track record.
“We’ve worked very hard to get waiting times cut down. I’ve just said we’re interested in providing more medical care to the patients of this province.
The Tories may have “worked very hard” to reduce waiting times, but there is no evidence they’ve had any success. And if “interest” were enough to provide medical services, we wouldn’t need politicians making promises that everyone knows they can’t keep.
We’ve created more positions at the Dalhousie medical schools.”
On the other hand, creating more places in medical school is the only policy mentioned in the entire news story that affords a reasonable hope of improving health care. The problem for the politicians is that any improvement it brings will not be seen during the life of the next government.
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