Health Minister Maureen MacDonald told us it would be a priority of her department, and the District Health Authority, to get us a new nurse practitioner. Three months have gone by since they fired Karen Snider, the nurse practitioner we all fought so hard to keep. Obviously the DHA and the Minister of Health had no idea what they were talking about when they said they would replace Karen. It’s tough to find someone with Karen’s skills and dedication. So Maureen MacDonald has left us with no health care most of the time. Yesterday, when we did have health care, all the patients who needed treatment didn’t get it.
There is a very simple solution to this problem. Get Karen Snider back in the clinic. Allow the community to set up its own health care structure, and the let the community run the clinic. The DHA may have had problems dealing with Karen as an employee. We feel the community would do a better job managing our own health care, with Karen as our nurse practitioner.
So, it’s time to start writing to the Minister of Health…reminding her that she has failed us, and so has the DHA. Tell her that we have the skills to run our own clinic…and come up with a solution that doesn’t leave us high and dry for health care.
Maureen MacDonald’s email is health.minister@gov.ns.ca
Andy
To Whom It May Concern:
I have done the very thing that I didn’t want to do. I have found a new health practitioner, a doctor, to take over from my former health care provider, Karen Snider. The clinic in Freeport now has continual health care with one constant on a weekly basis, Debbie Meisner, who travels from Kentville to provide services on Wednesday of every week. Being a fisherman doesn’t allow me to get sick only on Wednesdays’, so to have a constant health care provider I am now travelling 2 1/2 hrs to Wolfville where I have a doctor at the Mud Creek Clinic. I regret having to do this but my health is my #1 priority these days, as I imagine is most people who live on the Islands’ and Digby Neck. Thank you SWDHA, Dept. of Health and the Premier of Nova Scotia for making this possible for me (sarcasm is not usually the route I take).
Chris Outhouse
By: Chris Outhouse on January 22, 2010
at 11:43 pm
Dear concerned readers,
I received a letter (email) today from Jennifer Dell on behalf of the Minister of Health Maureen MacDonald.
It just goes to show you, that a lot of these letters sent are probably not read, at least not all the way through.
Jennifer tells me in my letter sent to Maureen MacDonald dated Dec 09/09, I had used “foul” language so therefore it would not be read in government..It was the word “bullshit” I presume. This was just told to me today. a month and a half later.
I had saved a copy of that letter I had sent Dec 09/ 2009 and I got a response to this letter the very same day from Maureen MacDonald on behalf of the copy I had sent to the Premier. Yet this Jennifer is telling me today that the same copy that was sent to Maureen MacDonald cannot be answered or read in government because of the foul language….
Upon reading this see if you agree that there is a communication gap somewheres…and no one knows what the other is reading or answering. What a farce this government is…..
Here is a copy of the letter I just received today:
January 18, 2010 Heather Prime
Dear Ms. Prime: I am in receipt of your e-mail dated December 9, 2009, sent to theHonourable Maureen MacDonald, Minister of Health, regarding the NursePractitioner position in the Digby Neck area. This particular e-mail sent to the Minister will not be answered, as itcontains offensive language. As of 2008, the Government of Nova Scotia has followed the RespectfulWorkplace Policy to encourage a healthy, safe and supportive workenvironment for government employees. The policy states: “Whether thesource of the offensive behaviour comes from within government oroutside, any allegation of offensive behaviour is serious and should betaken seriously. Managers have an obligation to take appropriate actionto protect their employees and others in the workplace and to put a stopto any offensive behaviour they are aware of…”. Therefore it was my responsibility, as the Correspondence Coordinatorof the Department of Health, to ensure that the offensive language usedin your correspondence sent to the Minister of Health, not be sharedwith others who work in government. I regret not writing to you sooner to communicate this decision, and Itrust that this information is helpful to you. Sincerely, Jennifer DellCorrespondenceCoordinatorNova Scotia Department of Health
Any excuse heh??
By: Heather Prime on January 18, 2010
at 4:56 pm
You are so right Heather – a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing for sure.
I’d like to be a mouse in the corner of their offices and listen to the conversations and I am sure they speak a great many times without proper etiquette. Oh well, let them remain in their dream world. We live in reality here in our community and we know the lanquage and are not offended but we also know our health care system and that is something that really offends us but apparently they are dreamers and not doers.
I have really enjoyed your writings Heather – keep on writing them – who knows someone of the higher level may wake up and really get the read on your letter.
By: Kathryn Thurber on January 19, 2010
at 9:50 am
Dear Honourable Maureen MacDonald
Thank you for responding to my letters that have been sent to you over the last three month. I was very hopeful that a positve solution would have been taken by your office for the reinstatement of our nurse practitioner, Karen Snider, but I see that this appears impossible. Health care takes another blow in this province and such is the workings of both our health and education systems that most Nova Scotians expect. In all fairness, I do believe that a fair and ethical solution could have been reached in the case of my health practitioner, Karen Snider.
And I do believe that health care is diminishing in this province even as I type this letter. A case in point that I want to relay to you that happened to me personally, this past weekend, after I had kidney stone removal. The operation was successful but a stent was put in me for drainage and to diminish swelling in the tube from the kidney to the bladder. My discharge paper from Valley Regional Hospital stated that I have the stent removed by “SELF” on Saturday (the operation was performed on Thursday). Now to say I could remove a foreign body from my person would be to say that I could perform miracles. Instead, I drove up and down the valley looking for a Dr or a nurse to remove this stent from my body, which is a very painful procedure, or so I’m told. A Dr. at Western Valley Medical Center removed the stent for me but I was thinking that if Karen Snider was still practicing on the Islands, she could have removed it and I could have stayed home to recover from this evasive procedure. But such is the case of health care in this province and I am but one example of a flawed system, or so I believe.
Again I thank you for responding to all my letters and I hope to hear from you again in the near future.
Sincerely,
Mr. Chris Outhouse
By: Chris Outhouse on January 17, 2010
at 11:15 pm
Honourable Maureen MacDonald
Minister of Health, Province of Nova Scotia
Karen Snider Nurse Practitioner for Digby Neck and Islands
Dear Ms. MacDonald:
It is now three months that we have been left high and dry without proper health care in our area. The community does not and never will understand your judgement with regard to this matter. My opinion is that you could/should have had a more hands on approach re your decision making in this fiasco that is ongoing.
Firstly, you could have interceded and spoken personally with Karen Snider and you would have been convinced just as the community is convinced that she is more than qualified to continue on as the Nurse Pratitioner for us. She cares about Health Care for the community and she has proven it time and time again.
It appears to me that you Minister and the SWDHA have supplied a bandaid approach to the ongoing situation within our community. Why would you and they accept such a standard for health care when we had everything going for us when we had our Nurse Practitioner Karen Snider.
Now Minister there is a group of people on our Liason Committee in our community who are more than willing to come to the table with you and discuss the proposals that have already been brought forward to you. We have an excellent Warden, Jim Thurber who would be more than willing to assist you. We also have our MLA Junior Theriault who also goes beyond the call of duty to make sure that the community gets the best care it can receive. Also, this community would love to see you come and join us and sort out this ongoing mess and provide a positive outcome to this sorry situation. The community has assisted in making decisions re Nurse Practitioner many years ago with the first pilot project. Why not come and meet with us and I assure you by working together we can make the difference with regard to this situation.
Hoping to hear from you shortly,
Kathryn Thurber
Taxpayer – Freeport NS
By: Kathryn Thurber on January 14, 2010
at 8:48 am
Premier Dexter and Maureen Mac Donald
We have been patiently waiting here on the Islands and Digby Neck for the Health Care you promised us .Still we have only had one NPhere since the New Year and I personally do not call that good health care !!!
We have been very patient with you both but I feel we need to have a meeting with one or both of you to show us you are really planning on us having health care .
You have failed us people here on these Islands .The DHA has also failed with us …..no one seems to want to talk with us here to hear what we have to say .We submitted three proposals to you three months ago .Did you even read them?????
We pay our taxes the same as you do and we are used as second class citizens as far as I can see .
We had a perfect situation here with Karen Snider as our NPand everything was going well until DHA got a BIG bee in their bonnet over something very petty as I see it .
Give us the benefit of the doubt and arrange a meeting with our Warden and Laison Committeeand listen to our side for once instead of DHA.
Please look at our situation and I will look for a reply asap .
Sincerely
Linda Elliott
By: Linda Elliott on January 11, 2010
at 4:02 pm