N.S. not prepared for swine flu: opposition

Nova Scotia's opposition parties lashed out at the NDP government Thursday for what they said was ill-preparedness for the second wave of swine flu.

Liberal MLA Dave Wilson said the province should have anticipated the high demand for vaccines.

"You had 200 people waiting in line in Baddeck and 600 people waiting in line in Westville," he said in the legislature. "You knew those numbers were going to be big."

Wilson said consent forms should have been posted online to speed up the process.

Progressive Conservative MLA Chris d'Entremont, who is a former health minister, was also critical of the vaccine rollout.

"Hants West has two clinics to cover 20,000 people," he said. "Argyle, we don't even have access to a vaccine clinic until the end of November, into December."

Health Minister Maureen MacDonald said her department is ensuring the plans change as the situation warrants.

"What we will not do, Mister Speaker, is change that plan at every whim based on no evidence, based on emotion and based on the kinds of hysterical accusations that we hear coming from the opposition," she said.

MacDonald said her department had already made one significant change — many of the clinics will no longer be run on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Because of the large turnout, we will be having lines in the various clinics that will allow for the higher-risk people to get served earlier when they come to a clinic," she said.

Those in high-risk groups include:

• People younger than 65 with chronic health conditions.
• Women in the second half of their pregnancies.
• Healthy children aged six months to 59 months.
• Health-care workers.
• People in contact with infants less than six months of age.
• People who have compromised immune systems.

Mistaken delivery

Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said there was further proof of the failure of the system when one doctor was sent 80 doses of the H1N1 vaccine "earmarked" for Nova Scotia Liquor Commission employees.

"It would appear that someone in their infinite wisdom decided that protecting the staff at liquor stores was more important than protecting family doctors," he said during Thursday's question period.

"Who is going to help the residents when family physicians fall ill in this district? The liquor store employees?" he asked.

MacDonald said health officials have talked to the doctor and given instructions that the vaccines be used on priority patients instead of NSLC employees.

"I think this was a very innocent kind of situation, and now that there's been communication it's clear that in this case, the right people will get this vaccine," she said.

"The workers that are not a priority whatsoever, will not be first in line."