Yesterday the Dennis King Government announced that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, our Islands largest hospital, had exceeded its max capacity in the emergency and inpatient departments.
The Liberal Official Opposition caucus has been flagging the potential for a situation like this since the spring sitting of the 2023 PEI Legislature, when this government made the decision to close the Prince County Hospital ICU without providing any due notice to staff or patients.
Further, we have seen over the course of the last 7 months, the closure of the Kings County Memorial Hospital ER services in Montague and the continued closure of the Western Hospital ER in Alberton.
The King government has done nothing to safeguard our Island hospitals from further closers, leaving staff and patients to deal with increased wait times, delays and stress.
The government's failure to address the critical issue of our province's primary hospital’s
emergency and impatient departments that are operating at over capacity is unacceptable.
Given the steady decline in access to healthcare services we have witnessed since this
government was re-elected, the Minister of Health must have a contingency plan for capacity issues at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
How much longer do Islanders have to wait before this government takes steps to address these chronic problems? Islanders deserve transparency in their healthcare system and the delivery of health care services.
The government must immediately provide a comprehensive explanation of their plans to alleviate the burden on healthcare staff and those desperately seeking emergency services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
We also call on the Minister of Health to be open and transparent with Islanders on what is causing the elevated use of health services this current flu season, and what preventative measures he is taking to keep Islanders healthy.
We need more action and less excuses from this Minister of Health and this government. It’s time for accountability and action.
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Media Contact
Robert Godfrey
Official Opposition Office
902-213-4572
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