N.S. premier, health minister, to kick off provincewide tour on health care Monday
Monday marks the kick-off of the Progressive Conservative's Speak Up for Healthcare tour across Nova Scotia where Premier Houston and his health minister will tour the province gathering feedback from front-line health care workers.
"We just want to make sure we’re really listening to opportunities that they see, challenges that are in front of them and I’m excited actually to tour the province and hear from them,” said Houston.
He says his new government is very focused on making changes in the healthcare system, something that was the cornerstone of their recent campaign.
"I said during the campaign and I feel it even stronger now, we will give everything we have to make sure that we improve healthcare in this province," he said.
Cape Breton University political science professor Tom Urbaniak says the provincewide tour emphasizes healthcare remains a priority for the Houston government.
“Even though Tim Houston said during the debates and during the campaign that the problems won’t be fixed overnight, the expectations are high. And in fact, the PC’s themselves promised a major increase in funding, more than $400 million in the first year of their mandate," said Urbaniak.
Urbaniak says recruiting and retaining health care professionals is going to be critical for the government.
"They’re going to have to announce that they’re filling the gaps and that they’re filling the shortages. That they’re bringing Nova Scotians home, that they’re recruiting people with compatible credentials elsewhere and that they’re working with communities to settle those professionals across Nova Scotia. That’s going to be really critical in the next few months," he said.
The president of Doctors Nova Scotia agrees recruitment is a big issue facing the province.
"If you don’t have workers to keep your system going, you can make all the changes you want and you’re not going to get anywhere. You need the people to support the work you want to do and to maintain the quality of the work you want to do," said Dr. Heather Johnson.
She says the tour is a good way for government to start a mandate.
"To me, to see the people that I talk to in the hospital over the past week - the doctors, the nurses, the paramedics - all thinking that they might get a chance to bend the premier’s ear about things they think are important, that gives people a sense of ownership in the planning and those are the pieces that are going to increase morale and improve it after what we’ve been through the last couple of years of things really being more difficult,” said Johnson.
The Speak Up for Health Care tour will take place from September 20 to 23.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.