Privatization of our HealthCare system---- Right under our Nose

Privatization of the Nova Scotia Healthcare system has reared its ugly head again in Nova Scotia. It became public in mid December that the newly built East Coast Medicenter is actively recruiting highly skilled Healthcare workers away from the public sector. Four operating room nurses from Colchester Regional Hospital handed their resignations to the Colchester East Hants Health Authority after being recruited by the private facility. Can the public system afford to lose these skilled and valuable employees? As a healthcare workers myself, I can guarantee you the answer is NO!

Our public Healthcare system is lacking. Canadians have to be willing to stand strong to save it or be prepared to watch it quickly fall to the private sector. That is all well and good if you can afford to access it once the private hospitals take over. There has been little publicity around the building of the East Coast Medicenter. If you have the available funds maybe you can jump the que and get faster service. Knowing that, out here in the public system we are now four operating room nurses shorter at Colchester hospital in Truro. I can not imagine how being four nurses shorter speeds up the wait times in the public system at the CEHHA.

If you starve the public sector of the Human resources needed to put out the requested service, obviously the service can not be provided adequately. It has been known for years that the Healthcare system has been in a human resources turmoil. Both the federal and provincial governments of this country have to address this fundamental issue before Healthcare can be revamped and become effective for all Canadians. Either we fix the system properly from the grass roots or the system can not and will not work. If we as Canadian citizens choose to look the other way and the private sector takes over, may we not complain when it takes our life savings to actually save our lives.

                                                                Karen MacKenzie

                                                                Vice President

                                                                Cupe, Nova Scotia

                                                                  28 Delaney Dr.

                                                                   Truro Nova Scotia

                                                                   895-8930 (h)

                                                                    899-0840 (c)

                                                                    893-4321  ext 2286  (w)