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Petition
Presented March 19, 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 very much, Mr. Speaker.
I just want to rise again
today with a petition similar to what I had last week,
but different signatures. That is the petition on doctor
shortages, not only in our Province but I speak
specifically to the district that I represent, and the
Conception Bay North area.
Mr. Speaker, quite a few
of our local clinics out there have a shortage of
doctors. We know that is being experienced right
throughout this Province, but I just want to make a note
of it because it was mentioned in the Throne Speech that
the retention of doctors and other professionals would
be possibly looked at this year, in this year’s
Budget, and we are looking forward to that, Mr. Speaker.
For clarification I want
to bring to the public’s attention, and to
government’s attention, some of the issues that people
encounter and the system encounters by there being a
shortage of doctors.
We know what burden it
places upon the emergency units in the various
hospitals, and I speak for the Carbonear General
Hospital. When someone has an incident happen, they
cannot get a general practitioner; or, if they do not
have one, they head immediately to the emergency unit,
and that is understandable. They have to go there, it is
an emergency to those people, but the people then are
stretched to the limit in those units at emergency in
Carbonear Hospital, and are unable to look after - like
I said, they are stretched to the limits and unable to
carry out their duties probably like they should, Mr.
Speaker.
Some people do not even
have a doctor. People have called and they have seen a
specialist in St. John’s and they do not have a
general practitioner to send their reports to, so
someone can advise them what is going on and so on.
Only recently we hear
more about it in the media. I believe it was Dr. Ritter
- I could be wrong - from the Newfoundland Medical
Association, who this week spoke out on the same issue.
He made it very clear that not all the time is it the
issue of finances or wages. Many of those people are
stretched to the limits in the rural areas as well as
the urban areas and they just move on. They cannot carry
the caseloads that they have, and it is becoming a major
problem, Mr. Speaker.
Only last week we brought
up about the audiologists at the Janeway Hospital. There
are many cases, Mr. Speaker, and I have one in my area,
there are audiologist there carrying out the work that
they are compelled to do in the hospitals but the
referrals that are put forward by the guidance
counsellors from the various schools on problems that
some young people are encountering cannot be done. It is
the central auditory processing test that we are
referring to. We were told that there are three
positions vacant at the Janeway now and those tests
cannot be done, Mr. Speaker.
So, on behalf of the
constituents, I just want to say to the minister and to
government that hopefully when the Budget comes down
there will be some good news on the retention of doctors
and this issue will be resolved sooner rather than
later.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. |
