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The Current's forum on access to health care, and fixing the system for patients and workers alike

CBC Radio | Posted: September 16, 2021 2:23 PM | Last Updated: September 16, 2021

Image | Current Musquodoboit Harbour forum

Caption: The Current held a forum about access to health care and mental health resources in rural communities and across Canada, hosted by Matt Galloway in Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Full Episode Transcript
Today on The Current(external link):
In a special broadcast from Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S., Matt Galloway hosts a forum about access to health care and mental health resources, including in smaller, more rural communities. More than 75,000 Nova Scotians are seeking a family doctor(external link), with emergency rooms struggling to pick up the slack, even as they face temporary closures over staffing shortages. We hear from patients, front-line health workers and advocates as they discuss their experiences and how they feel the health-care system needs to change.

Image | Ronald-Hayden

Caption: Matt Galloway spoke with Ronald Hayden, who survived a heart attack but has no family doctor to see about follow-up care. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Ronald-Lana-Hayden

Caption: On the day of his heart attack, Ronald Hayden was on his boat, preparing to sail to Halifax. He managed to call his wife Lana Wood Hayden before he passed out, saying the words “Help me.” (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Jamie-Stewart copy

Caption: Jamie Stewart is a registered nurse in the emergency department at the Cobequid Community Health Centre. He says that as the pandemic fades, the crisis in the health-care system is Canada’s new state of emergency. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Matt-Anne-Simone

Caption: Matt Galloway spoke with Anne MacPhee and Simone Harker. Both of their husbands died while waiting for medical attention, which came too late. Now they’re calling for change. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Chris Parsons

Caption: Chris Parsons is provincial co-ordinator at the Nova Scotia Health Coalition. He said there’s a reluctance to try to fix health-care because of the enormity of the problem, but it comes down to a moral choice. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Anne MacPhee-Simone Harker-Lisa Bonang-Chris Parsons

Caption: Anne MacPhee, Simone Harker, Dr. Lisa Bonang, and Chris Parsons spoke at the forum. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Dr. Lisa Bonang

Caption: Dr. Lisa Bonang has been a family doctor for 26 years in Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S. She has a full slate of patients, and a 2-month wait for non-emergency appointments. Even with that workload, she says it’s really hard to say no to people who ask if she’s taking on new patients. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

Image | Musquodoboit Harbour forum audience

Caption: The forum in Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S. heard from Nova Scotians about their experiences with the health-care system. (Chantal Bernard/CBC)

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