Patient care being affected, health care crisis must be addressed

HALIFAX - Another patient is coming forward about the effect overcrowding in Nova Scotia’s hospitals is having on patient care.

Deidre MacPherson has chronic asthma and ended up in hospital two weeks ago where paramedics had to wait with her for four hours before she was seen by a doctor. She was eventually diagnosed with double pneumonia. The doctor at the hospital suggested MacPherson, a single mother, be admitted, but she would have been placed on a stretcher in the hallway at the QEII. She instead went home to be cared for by her mother, a retired nurse, but returned to hospital with a secondary infection.

“I am scared. My kids and I don’t have a family doctor anymore and my condition requires regular monitoring by a physician,” said MacPherson. “I shouldn’t have to rely on family to take care of me when I should have been in a hospital.”

Data obtained by the NDP through a Freedom of Information request last week shows many hospital beds in the province are occupied by patients who should be in long-term care. On Tuesday, an increase in calls to 911 in the Central Zone meant dozens of ambulances were stuck waiting for hours at hospitals in Halifax and Dartmouth.

“Deidre's story illustrates everything that is wrong with health care in Nova Scotia. The lack of family doctors, the overcrowded emergency rooms, patients being treated in hallways -- the list goes on,” said NDP Leader Gary Burrill. “In next week’s budget, people want to see a major investment in addressing the health care crisis. Anything less from the Liberal government is an abdication of responsibility.”

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