Health care professionals hope a Houston-led government can deliver on promises to fix system

GLACE BAY, N.S. -

­­­­­The Glace Bay General Hospital's emergency department was closed Wednesday. It's been shuttered for a while now and it's unclear when the doors will reopen.

The closure has led to chaos at Cape Breton Island's largest hospital in Sydney.

"Insane. We've been very short staffed in the emergency department, both on the physician side and on the nursing side," says Dr. Margaret Fraser, an emergency room doctor in Sydney.

The newly elected Progressive Conservative MLA for Glace Bay-Dominion says change is coming.

John White says his party campaigned on the promise to fix what they called a health care crisis.

"If I can say anything about Tim Houston, is that he's a listener," White says. "He wants to hear your stories and know how to address it. We're coming to you the professionals for assistance."

Paramedics have also been sounding the alarm on the lack of personnel, which has led to longer wait times in some cases for an ambulance in Nova Scotia.

The head of the union says he was surprised by a PC majority win, but feels health care is an issue voters want fixed.

"The system is broken and we just need to get to the table and have some frank discussions with the politicians," says Michael Nickerson, the president of Nova Scotia's paramedics union.

Nickerson admits it will take some time, but not everyone is sure whether a Houston led government can fix wait times, the need for family physicians, and more nurses.

"I'm neither optimistic nor pessimistic. I'm kind of holding my breath honestly," says Fraser. "I've been in Cape Breton for 13 years and I've been told that things will get better and every year things have gotten worse."

Fraser says people in power at the local level instead of a regional health authority could have immediate impacts, but for now it's a waiting game with the hope a blue wave across this province will create sweeping changes in health care.