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Constituency Office
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HARPER’S DOUGHNUT SHOP MEDICARE SHOWS LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON HEALTH

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HARPER’S DOUGHNUT SHOP MEDICARE SHOWS LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON HEALTH

New Democrats call for more money for doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals

OTTAWA – Fin Donnelly, MP for New Westminster-Coquitlam-Port Moody, asked the Minister of Health some tough questions today after revelations emerged that patients are being treated at the Tim Hortons in the lobby of Royal Columbian Hospital.

“Yesterday the lack of emergency room resources took an absurd turn. Overcrowding in the Royal Columbian Hospital resulted in patients being treated in Tim Hortons,” said Donnelly in Question Period. “Will the Conservatives listen to New Democrats on public healthcare--to ensure folks aren’t being treated in a doughnut shop?”

Royal Columbian Hospital has been at the center of several patient horror stories since the hospital was forced to drastically increase its capacity in 2004 when Saint Mary’s hospital in New Westminster was closed.

“This isn’t the first time alarm bells have gone off about overcrowding in the Royal Columbian emergency room,” Donnelly said later. “How many times do incidents like this have to happen for this government to take action? Patients are being stacked in hospital hallways, elderly patients are being discharged in the middle of the night – this is not the way to treat people in need of serious medical attention.”

New Democrats have been calling on the Harper government to invest in public healthcare to invest in the training and hiring of 1200 new doctors and 6000 new nurses which would lessen the load in hospitals and save millions in the long run.

* Click HERE to view Fin's debate in the House of Commons.



Related Links:
Vancouver Sun: Tim Hortons health care; an irresistible image we can all understand
Canadian Press: Tim Hortons double-doubles as makeshift hospital ward
CTV News: Tim Hortons triage: B.C. patients treated in coffee shop
The Leader: ER crunch spills over into Tim Hortons at Royal Columbian
The Record: Tim Hortons doubles as an ER