Liberals closing New Waterford Mobile Care Team for summer

Shutdown due to staffing shortages in Sydney

NEW WATERFORD -Documents obtained by the NDP Caucus show that the Nova Scotia Health Authority is planning to shut down the Mobile Care Team. The documents state that the shut down is temporary and due to staffing shortages at the regional hospital in Sydney.

As health care staffing shortages continue across Cape Breton, NDP spokesperson for Health Tammy Martin is worried about the government’s plan to move services out of New Waterford and to the regional hospital.

“They say this closure will be temporary, but we know health care workers are leaving Cape Breton and the staffing shortages are getting worse. Will this mean more services leave New Waterford and head to the regional as the shortages grow?” said Martin, who is also the MLA for Cape Breton Centre. “The people of Cape Breton deserve the same level of access to care that people in Halifax get.”

The Mobile Care Team provides non-urgent care in people’s homes in the evenings when the emergency room is closed at the hospital in New Waterford. This is the latest health care service in Cape Breton that has been reduced or eliminated by the Liberal government.

“There is a serious health care crisis in Cape Breton, and so far it doesn’t look like the government is listening to what people said during the election,” said Martin. “When will the Premier finally admit there is a crisis in health care?”

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