NLMA says access-to-information request shows N.L. has no plan to fix doctor shortage
CBC
The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association says the provincial government — particularly Health Minister John Haggie — has no plan to address the province's ongoing problems with doctor shortages.
In a media release issued Friday, the NLMA said it filed an access-to-information request for a copy of the plan that the group says Haggie referenced in a recent interview with NTV News.
"We have a plan. We've got a short-, medium- and long-term approach, but there is no secret sauce for this just at the moment," Haggie said in the interview.
The association, which represents the province's physicians, says the mention of a plan even existing was a surprise to the organization, so it tried to retrieve documentation through an access-to-information request.
But the response, issued Sept. 21, contained no plans or records other than a link to a 2015 document before Haggie was appointed minister, according to the NLMA, adding the minister's assertion in the media was therefore "inaccurate and misleading."
"Furthermore, none of the activities mentioned in the department's response were focused on addressing the physician shortage," reads the media release.
NLMA president Dr. Susan MacDonald told CBC News on Monday that there are some general statements about what the Department of Health wants to see, but no health resources plan, or recruitment and retention strategies.