Nouvelles

Telegraph-Journal
p. A4, mardi, 25 novembre 2008

Where's the plan?

Does Health Minister Michael Murphy have a plan to achieve his department's objectives?

We ask, because some of the most significant issues the Department of Health faced in 2006 remain unresolved.

Mr. Murphy was supposed to create a province-wide strategy for treating trauma patients.

He was supposed to bring staffing up in the province's emergency rooms and other critical hospital departments.

He was supposed to expedite the creation of new medical training programs.

He was supposed to reduce the cost of health care and patient waiting times.

What results has he delivered?

* The trauma network has been delayed repeatedly.

* The anglophone medical program was shuffled off to the Department of Post-Secondary Education, though its existence depends on well-staffed hospitals.

* The ER at New Brunswick's trauma hospital, Saint John Regional, has been reduced to about half-staff. It is not meeting all benchmarked wait times or national guidelines for a training centre.

* New Brunswick's wait times were ranked the second-longest in Canada.

* New Brunswick could become the first province to spend more than 50 per cent of its revenues on health care.

New Brunswickers are starting to wonder what the minister's priorities are.

In two years, Mr. Murphy has released one major reform - his reorganization of the health care system into two regional authorities. This restructuring has ignited a legal battle over language rights, because it puts parochial interests and regional politics ahead of common objectives.

Trauma care, ER staffing, medical training and lengthy wait times concern the entire province. The Graham government has made a commitment to deliver timely and effective solutions. Yet each of these issues seems to have been superseded by Mr. Murphy's political tinkering.

Mr. Murphy has said he is prepared to be judged on his performance. We urge Premier Shawn Graham not to wait until the next election. Health care consumes a third of the provincial budget and matters to every New Brunswicker.

This province needs a minister of health who can deliver a provincial plan. Mr. Murphy has had plenty of time to do so. The public cannot afford another two years of delays.