Community rallies were held across Nova Scotia Saturday as part of the Save Our Rural Healthcare campaign’s provincial day of action.
It was another call for the provincial government to admit there’s a healthcare crisis in rural communities and do something about it.
While only 10 people attended the event in Yarmouth at Alma Square, those who spoke did so passionately.
Lois Richard tells CJLS News that and her husband moved back to Yarmouth 12 years ago after she had a heart attack and was assured by her doctors in Halifax that she would be ok.
“They said if something happens they’ll stabilize you in Yarmouth and put you in an ambulance. So we moved back thinking that, well, I’m on the 811 list and I’ll get a doctor. Well, that doesn’t happen I take large doses of Warfarin and I have no doctor to monitor that here so I have one in Halifax that does. I have to go to Halifax to get my prescriptions filled. It’s just crazy that I don’t have anybody here that I can to to when I need help”
Adam Dolliver of Shyft House organized the rally in Yarmouth telling CJLS News that hearing personal stories from different people shows it’s not just a southwestern Nova Scotia problem.
“It’s not just about the ER’s being closed, even though that does affect us in Yarmouth because of the influx of patients. This is a bigger problem, it’s multi-leveled, it’s very complex and it needs some real comprehensive solution-findings to fix the issues.”
No elected officials attended the rally.
(CJLS News photo)
