MLA Smith Responds To NDP Alternative Throne Speech
Worst Wait Times in Canada Under the NDP: Smith Winnipeg, MB – Andrew Smith, MLA for Lagimodiere, is responding to the NDP
Alternative Throne Speech which ignores their record on healthcare in Manitoba.
“The former NDP government left our healthcare system in disarray after 17 years of mismanagement, leading to the longest wait times in the country,” said MLA Smith. “The document released by the NDP today conveniently ignores the reality of their record on healthcare and the significant investments our PC government has made to improve the system for all Manitobans.”
The previous NDP government created one of the worst managed health systems in Canada. In 2015, emergency department wait times in Manitoba were the worst of any province, and that was without the added pressures of a global pandemic. Under the NDP, Manitobans were also forced to wait far too long for specialized procedures, including average wait times for hip and knee replacements ranging from 17 to 24 weeks.
Our PC government undertook system-wide initiatives and spent money fixing the broken system left by the NDP. We have made significant investments to re-build our healthcare system to ensure Manitobans have access to high-quality and timely care. We have invested $90 million to develop the Emergency Department at St. Boniface Hospital, added 2,000 additional cataract procedures to address wait times and added 1,000 additional hip and knee procedures.
We continue to recruit and train more nurses to ensure Manitobans are provided with high-quality care. We have added 400 new nursing education seats, expanded financial supports to internationally educated nurses to obtain their license in Manitoba and added 60 new ICU nursing positions across the province. Our PC government has taken a proactive approach to managing COVID-19 including more than doubling our ICU capacity and recruiting and training more nurses.
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