The BC NDP candidate in the riding of Fraser-Nicola says if re-elected, a John Horgan government would ensure the Ashcroft Hospital stays open 24-7.
Aaron Sumexheltza says making sure people can access emergency care day or night is his priority for the people of Ashcroft.
Currently, the hours for the emergency department are Friday to Monday 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. – but during the rest of the week the hospital is only open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., while the ER is closed altogether on stat holidays.
“That’s why I’m determined if I’m elected the MLA that I’ll sit down with community members, health professionals, people that have lived in Ashcroft for a long time or most of their lives and I’m committed to listening and hearing how we can move this forward,” he said on the NL Noon Report.
He says Ashcroft has lost one of it’s three doctors in the last six month, noting there have also been problems attracting more nurses to the community, but it remains unclear how an NDP government would change what has been a chronic problem for years.
“We did initially have 16 years of BC Liberal government where we had an immense amount of cuts. We have done a lot of important steps in those first three and a half years when the NDP was in government. We have added doctors and nurses and healthcare professionals over those few years. There is a lot more work to do.”
He says he spoke to John Horgan about the difficulties staffing the hospital – with Horgan committing to him they’ll fix the problems after the election.
“And just let him know what an important issue this is for that part of our riding and we were able to – and I’m really excited that we were able to come up with a commitment to expand the emergency department services after the election.”
However, the BC Liberal incumbent in the riding of Fraser-Nicola says the NDP commitment is light on detail.
Jackie Tegart says government has been well aware of the challenges retaining doctors and nurses in rural areas in general, and Ashcroft specifically – and wonders exactly how the NDP plan to deliver on their promise.
“Will it address the challenges in the lab? Will it address the root causes of why retention is so challenging? Things like part-time versus full-time. Scheduling in the building. Locum versus full-time doctors. It’s a great announcement. It’s one that people are quite pleased about but the devil is in the details,” she said, on the NL Noon report.
“So I’m very curious about announcements that are made sort of out of the blue and how they expect to actually put it into action.”
Tegart says the issues are many, and they are complex, noting if it were that easy to be fixed, it would have been done by now.
Also running in Fraser Nicola in Green candidate Jonah Timms, and independent candidates Dennis Adamson and Mike Bhangu.
