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Petition
Presented March 12, 2008
To improve
efforts to recruit and retain general practitioners.
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MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Today I want to present a
petition, and I will read the body of the petition: To
the hon. House of Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Parliament assembled.
WHEREAS
there is a shortage of doctors to service the medical
needs of people in many areas of this Province; and
WHEREAS
this shortage of general practitioners is causing people
to have to either go without the services of a doctor or
depend on the outpatients and emergency services offered
at regional hospitals;
WHEREUPON
the undersigned, your petitioners, call upon all Members
of the House of Assembly to urge government to improve
efforts to recruit and retain general practitioners in
all areas of the Province so that they would have
adequate service.
Mr. Speaker, I noticed
during the Throne Speech - and we are looking forward, I
guess, to when the Budget comes down - it was noted that
there would be some news coming on the retention of
doctors and other professional people throughout our
Province.
When it comes to, I
guess, a lack of doctors, I know all too well what it is
like in the Conception Bay North area. Yes, we do have
doctors but I can ensure you there is a tremendous
shortage. Many of the people there do not have a doctor
at all. Many people call, wondering what they can do.
They go to the Health Sciences or St. Clare’s or
Carbonear General, and they don’t have a general
practitioner where their reports can be sent back. They
find themselves in a very strenuous situation from time
to time. Other people were fortunate to be able to get
in contact with general practitioners here in St.
John’s. Some of the doctors moved to this area and
they took the list of patients with them, Mr. Speaker.
Having a shortage of
general practitioners carries other responsibilities
with it, because all too often people, even people who
have doctors, and others who are trying to get into
those clinics, when they call they are unable to come up
with the services of a doctor and the message manager
cuts in and says: In case of emergency, please go to the
Carbonear General.
I guess, regardless of
what the situation is, many people take their issues as
emergencies, and many people have to go to Carbonear
General and there are tremendous lineups. I have had
calls over the recent past couple of weeks where people
have been there waiting three, four and five hours, got
discouraged and left and went back home.
It has nothing to do with
the people who work at those facilities, Mr. Speaker.
Those people are stressed to the limit. It is just that
there are so many people coming there, due to a lack of
general practitioners, they find it very difficult.
Like I said, the waiting
lists are tremendous so we are calling upon government -
and hopefully we will hear something about this in the
Budget. It is mentioned in the Throne Speech that over
the coming days and weeks we will see some plan that
this government has in place for, I guess, not only the
retention of the doctors that we have, but a plan in
place so that other people will be coming to our
Province, or those who are here in other areas.
We only recently heard of
a doctor in the Trinity-Bay de Verde area; he is the
only doctor on the Trinity North shore now. He was
expressing concerns about the backlog of people he has,
and he is unable to take any other patients.
Mr. Speaker, in
conclusion, I will call upon the minister and hopefully
over the next couple of weeks we will hear some good
news in this area.
Thank you very much. |
