After a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Houston told reporters the province was “committed” to strengthening its public health care system. “We are distracted by the fear-mongering that is taking place,” Houston said, adding that he was not concerned that a growing private health sector could siphon off resources from its public counterpart. “The reality is our focus is on making sure Nova Scotians can access the care they need, when they need it and where they need it,” he said. “The so-called ‘slippery slope argument’ that once we start going into the private system … I just don’t see it, I don’t see Nova Scotia being on that slope, so I’m not even going to speculate on whether it’s a risk or not.” It comes as Health Minister Michelle Thompson revealed last week that the province is considering expanding the private health care system to ease the burden on the province’s surgery backlog. On Wednesday, Thompson again pointed to partnerships the province already has with private health care providers, such as one with Dartmouth-based Scotia Surgery, a private clinic that performs elective and outpatient surgeries. “It’s really a public-private partnership that allows us to increase capacity,” Thompson said of the province’s backlog of surgery. “We have a number of surgeons, for example, who are always looking for more time. If there is an opportunity for us to do some of these low-acuity surgeries outside of this system with public funds and it allows us to free up more time in the OR for more complex surgeries operations that require hospitalization, then we want to do it.” “Every stone will be uncovered as we work to be innovative around these surgical waiting lists,” Thompson said.
“Concern remains” about the NDP
Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Wednesday that the possibility of a private system overtaking the public one is always present. “To suggest that there is no drift toward private health care is to willfully ignore the evidence,” Cheddar said. “When we say we’re concerned about a slide into private health care, what we’re talking about is all the existing ways that people are currently paying to access health care,” he added, pointing to the private, subscription-based clinic that recently opened at Dartmouth as an example. “That includes the private clinic that opened in Dartmouth, telemedicine and other ways that Nova Scotians now, if they can afford it, can pay for health care that others can’t,” he said. “That remains a concern for us.” Liberal leader Jack Churchill said he was not reassured by Houston’s comments. “One of the biggest problems we face in healthcare right now is the workforce shortage, so if you create a private healthcare delivery system, I definitely think it will take more staff away from the public healthcare system and the workforce shortage is worse in health care,” Churchill said. “I think you are creating too much of a risk.”
