Myrna Driedger
Conservative Health Critic Myrna Driedger is calling the Souris emergency room closure another N.D.P. failure.
She says there is a real problem in our province
in retaining doctors, noting over 1,500 have left Manitoba in the last ten years
with the largest exodus taking place in 2008 with 250 doctors leaving. Driedger
adds this creates a revolving door of doctors coming and going in the province,
destabilizing the healthcare system. She notes there has to be a much stronger
effort in retaining doctors, adding if nothing changes we will see this problem
continue as it has for the past ten years. Driedger says rural Manitobans need
to be included in a dialogue about what needs to be done to improve rural
healthcare, adding it concerns her to hear how many feel like second-class
citizens. She notes the N.D.P. government has failed to put in place the proper
management and planning needed to provide reliable healthcare in rural
Manitoba.
Driedger adds the closure at Souris is the 18th take place in
rural Manitoba. She says there is a certain amount of fear for loved ones
resonating from residents, adding she can't imagine what it would be like to
live in an area where quick access to healthcare isn't available. Driedger says
a lack of emergency services could lead to poor outcomes.