We have nothing to fear but the immediate consequences

Another blast from the past:

Health plan delayed due to by-election

ST. JOHN'S, July 16, 2002 — Ross Wiseman, the Opposition critic for Health Policy and Planning, said the Minister of Health and Community Services was supposed to hold a news conference in the first week of July to announce a new health plan – but the announcement, first delayed because of the Voisey's Bay debate, has now been delayed by the by-election.

The Minister had initially indicated that the plan would be announced in the middle of June but then stated publicly that it was pre-empted by the Voisey's Bay debate. He later rescheduled the announcement for the first week of July, but then canceled it due to the by-election.

Wiseman said, "The Grimes government doesn't want bad news announced during the by-election, so it is holding off on releasing its plans for the health system until after the by-election is over. The Minister and the Premier know that the political fallout could be profound once the public figures out what the government has in mind for our health system."

"We've been calling on the Minister for several months to release a comprehensive health plan for the province, but all we are getting is one excuse after another," he said.

"The government is compromising the health care of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians by delaying an announcement out of fear of the immediate political consequences," said Wiseman. "The government is more interested in pretending it's doing a good job than in acknowledging the crisis that has gripped our health system and is threatening the health care of our people."

"If the government were truly interested in protecting the future of our health system, it would not have delayed this critical announcement throughout the Voisey's Bay debate and the by-election," he said.

"The health system needs action now to address the crisis that is putting patient care in jeopardy. Every week that goes by without a health plan is another week of lost opportunities and a week mired deeper in crisis. In the meantime, while the government has let the health crisis fester without giving it the priority it warrants, health care professionals have been making decisions about their future and many areas are in jeopardy of losing the doctors and nurses they need to provide an adequate level of health services," he said.

"The government has to stop playing politics with the health system. Clearly, they are more interested in their own political futures and political well-being than with the future of the health system and the well-being of the people who rely on it," he said.