NDP release:
A Freedom of Information response received by the NSNDP Caucus reveals that 82,834 people are waiting for diagnostic imaging tests as of February 2022. Meanwhile, the Conservatives’ plan to fix health care is now 10 days overdue.
“About one of every dozen people in the province is currently waiting for access to diagnostic imaging. This means people are dealing with the associated anxiety and stress because they don’t know when they will get the care they need,” said Susan Leblanc, NDP Health and Wellness spokesperson.
Even more disturbing is that 4,136 people, roughly one in five of the people on the waitlist for an MRI, have been waiting for more than a year.
“When people are forced to wait for more than a year to even access a diagnostic scan like an MRI, it means they will be waiting even longer to get the final treatment and care they need. Often once someone has a scan, they need to wait again for a consultation for surgery, and then wait again for the surgery itself,” said Leblanc. “The long wait lists also drive people toward the private, for-profit MRI clinic where people are forced to pay out-of-pocket for care that they should receive in the public system. Where is the plan to fix health care that people were promised during the election?”
Tim Houston said last week that the health care plan has been delayed, but it is still coming. He said he wants to get it right. The NDP Caucus hopes he does.
Source: Release