Lab and X-ray correspondence raises more concerns

Government’s decision to issue a late Friday afternoon press release and have nobody available for comment again shows the lack of respect this government has for the people of the province who rely on the health care system, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones.

On Friday afternoon, Health Minister Paul Oram issued a news release and released correspondence regarding cuts to lab and x-ray services in Lewisporte. While he tried to use this as a justification for the cuts, the documents clearly show that the decision to close these services was a government decision. The central health board also issued a warning that any cuts would have an impact on patient care.

“The way government went about releasing this information was insincere and hypocritical,” said Ms. Jones. “The premier criticized Eastern Health officials for doing this exact thing a couple of months ago, and here we have his health minister repeating these unacceptable actions. This is inexcusable and a slap in the face to the public who are sick and tired of this government’s approach to releasing information.”

In addition to the method used to release the information, Jones also raised concerns about the documents. “First, there are 13 other budget saving options contained in these documents, is government planning to implement any others? Second, there was no correspondence from government released which generated this list of cutbacks. Third, there was no mention of why the decision was made to close lab and x-ray services in Flower’s Cove. Fourth, there is no justification as to how these closures will improve patient care.

“This was a very weak attempt of trying to justify a very poor decision. If this is how our health minister plans to operate his department, I have little confidence that our health care system will be improved anytime soon. The Friday afternoon press release and documentation will certainly prove to the people of Lewisporte and Flower’s Cove that there will be no service improvements in their area and these cuts are simply being made to save money on the backs of their health care needs.”

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