Pictou County MLAs concerned over reduced services

The three Progressive Conservative MLAs in Pictou County are calling on the McNeil government to come forward with a clear plan for health care services in Pictou County.

Last week, it was announced the Aberdeen Walk-in Clinic would be closing for six weeks this summer while the clinic determines its future.

“This clinic is seeing more than 10,000 visits per year. That’s 10,000 cases in Pictou County that will flood the Aberdeen Emergency Room,” says Pictou East MLA Tim Houston. “It’s added pressure to a hospital that has already seen significant service cuts.”

On Monday, Aug. 6, Houston, Pictou Centre MLA Pat Dunn, and Karla MacFarlane, MLA for Pictou West, will join concerned community members in a protest, marching from the walk-in clinic in New Glasgow to the emergency department at the hospital at 4 p.m.

The clinic has become an important part of the area’s health care services, the MLAs say.

Dunn says frustrations in the county is mounting.

“Quite simply, our health care needs are not being met in Pictou County,” adds Dunn. “We need a system we can count on, not one that is in constant crisis and chaos.”

The Aberdeen has more than 40,000 ER visits a year. The MLAs say many of those could be handled in a clinic setting.

“Pictou County families need a clear plan for health care delivery right in their own community,” says MacFarlane.