Amherst rally magnifies frustration over ER closures, doctor shortage

Hundreds of people attended a protest Wednesday evening in Amherst, N.S., to rally for better health care in the area.

The rally, held outside the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre, was organized after a longtime physician at the hospital threatened to quit over his working conditions. The event's organizer, Bonnie McNeil, said Nova Scotia's health care is in crisis.

"When I first was in nursing or even the last 10, 15 years, I didn't have to see people die in hallways, I didn't have to put elderly people in an ambulance and transport them so many miles to see a doctor," said McNeil, a registered nurse.

Support for doctors and nurses

McNeil worked at All Saints Hospital in Springhill, N.S., for 37 years. After she retired, she started working across the street from the hospital at High-Crest Nursing Home.

"I had been frustrated for some time with health care and I had been talking to doctors and I thought, this is it, something's got to be done, I'm going to do it," McNeil said.

People brought signs to the rally that read "Health care trumps a balanced budget," "Keep politics out of health care," and "Save our ERs"

Tom Patey of Springhill, N.S., said he had surgery at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre about 10 years ago and said he "was treated like a king." He said there's been a decline in care since.

"I came out to support our doctors and nurses in Cumberland County. They're overworked and obviously the premier of this province don't care about us," said Patey.

'Bureaucratic mess'

Steven Edwards, an Amherst resident, said he came out to support Dr. Brian Ferguson, the ER doctor who threatened to quit the hospital because of working conditions.

"The Nova Scotia Health Authority is pathetic," said Edwards. "This bureaucratic mess where everything seems to be important to certain places and places like Amherst, which is one of the oldest towns in Nova Scotia ... gets nothing."

Edwards said he's been living in Amherst for four months. Although he's from the area originally, he lived in Ontario for 20 years.

He said he's "embarrassed" by Nova Scotia's health-care system. He said he listens to the local radio station every day and hears about ER closures.

"It's almost like they should say it the other way around now ... instead of saying what's closed down, let's say what's open because nothing is ever open," Edwards said.

Phyllis and Walter Monroe have a cottage in Amherst Shore, N.S., and visit each summer from Oshawa, Ont. They said they might need to use the hospital one day and said they attended the rally to support health-care workers.

"A lot of elderly people can't travel very far as it is, but to have to go to Truro or Halifax or Moncton, that's impossible," said Phyllis Monroe. 

Province working on improving care

The health authority told CBC News in an email it was aware of the rally and of the concerns people have.

In an emailed statement, the health authority said recruiting more physicians and improving primary care are top priorities.

Prior to the rally, Nova Scotia Health Minister Randy Delorey told CBC News that a lot of things are happening behind the scenes to improve the health-care system and that more time is needed to see the results.

On Wednesday, the province announced new doctor hires for the health authority's northern zone, which includes East Hants and Colchester, Cumberland and Pictou counties.

The health authority said it has recruited four family doctors and five specialists in addition to four other specialists and another family doctor. Two specialists started last month and two more will start in July 2019.  The physicians will be heading to Truro, Pictou West and New Glasgow, it said.

A second doctor recruiter was recently hired for the northern zone and the health authority said it is confident there will be more recruits for the area in the near future.