NDP calls on government to release information about any community hospitals being reviewed

HALIFAX – Following the sudden announcement this week that the Liberal government will close hospitals in New Waterford and North Sydney, the NDP Caucus is calling on Premier McNeil and the Nova Scotia Health Authority to release the names of any other hospitals currently under review.

“The Premier’s handling of this announcement has been high-handed, top-down and inexcusable,” said NDP Leader Gary Burrill. “Communities need to be spoken with and consulted, not decreed to. Closing a hospital is no small thing, no wonder people are concerned that their community could be next.”

The Premier told reporters yesterday that there are no plans to close other emergency rooms in the province but said that the services offered at other hospitals could change.

“The people of New Waterford and North Sydney were concerned for months that our emergency rooms were in danger of closing,” said Tammy Martin, MLA for Cape Breton Centre and NDP Spokesperson for Health. “The Liberals must be honest about their plans for health care and talk with the people who will be most affected by any changes before decisions get made.”

While in government, the NDP opened Collaborative Emergency Centres to help keep health care services available in communities across Nova Scotia, including in New Waterford.

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