Health care cornerstone of NDP alternative throne speech

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This article was published 09/11/2022 (679 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Promises to expand hours and access to health centres and to hire more nurse practitioners are at the core of the New Democratic Party’s pitch to Manitobans in its alternative throne speech.

Leader Wab Kinew released his party’s vision for the province on Thursday; it takes aim at the Progressive Conservative government for stretching “hospitals to a breaking point.”

“The PCs have made a lot of bad choices when it comes to health care. We know that the pandemic and the staffing crisis have created a hugely challenging situation for our health-care system,” Kinew said.

He pledged to introduce “family friendly” hours at the Grace Hospital ACCESS Centre, at an announcement at Sturgeon Heights Community Centre. He was joined by NDP MLAs Adrien Sala and Uzoma Asagwara, and the party’s candidate in the upcoming Kirkfield Park byelection, Logan Oxenham.

“All of us as parents have probably had that moment where we wish we could have seen a nurse practitioner or we could have accessed the clinic before school or after the hockey practice,” Kinew said.

The NDP said it wants to open the west Winnipeg health centre from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. to provide primary care and see walk-in patients, as “an immediate solution to our current health care crisis and a long-term investment in better care for your family”

The PC government will deliver its throne speech, which will lay out its priorities and legislative agenda for the upcoming session, on Nov. 15. The Tories have set their focus on affordability, economic growth, health, and public safety.

Meanwhile, the byelection to replace former cabinet minister Scott Fielding, who resigned his Kirkfield Park seat in June, is expected to be called within the next five days. The byelection must be held by Dec. 13.

The NDP, which has maintained a lead over the Tories in the most recent polls, positioned itself as a solution to the crisis in the health system.

According to the NDP, the pilot project to extend clinic hours would cost $1 million and would be expanded to all ACCESS centres in Winnipeg.

The ACCESS centre program would also be expanded to Brandon and rural and northern Manitoba, if the NDP is elected in the next election, and will require hiring more nurse practitioners.

“Like all front-line health-care staff, there has been a quiet exodus of nurse practitioners after years of mistreatment by the PCs,” the NDP state in its alternative throne speech.

“To sustainably increase hours at ACCESS centres, we need to expand the number of nurse practitioner seats, hire more (of them) throughout the province and ensure nurse practitioners are represented at the board level of service delivery organizations like Shared Health.”

The NDP also reiterated its pledges to freeze Manitoba Hydro rates, address the rising cost of food, establish universal nutrition programs in every school, open a safe drug consumption site, and introduce a plan to end chronic homelessness within two terms.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca