Official Opposition Calls for Action to Address ER Closures at Western Hospital

Tignish, PE – With the emergency department at the Western Hospital in Alberton now closed for the third time in seven days, the Official Opposition is calling on the government to address the ongoing instability of emergency health services in West Prince.

For many Islanders, especially those without a family doctor, the local emergency department has become a crucial point of access to healthcare. When those doors are locked with little or no notice, families are left without necessary care close to home if a loved one becomes sick or injured.

“When people need healthcare in an emergency, the first place they think to go is their local hospital,” said Hal Perry, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition and MLA for Tignish-Palmer Road. “Your access to emergency care should not depend on your postal code. People in West Prince pay the same taxes as every other Islander, and they deserve the same access to emergency care when they need it.”

With West Prince residents now facing a drive to Prince County Hospital in Summerside if they need to access emergency care during the closure, the Official Opposition is calling on the government to provide Islanders with a clear plan to stabilize emergency department access in western Prince Edward Island and to ensure rural communities are not left scrambling when a last-minute closure is announced.

“Our doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare professionals are doing everything they can under incredibly difficult circumstances,” Perry said. “The responsibility for these repeated closures lies with our provincial government’s failure to put a plan in place to ensure rural communities have reliable access to emergency care.”

The inconsistent access to health care for rural Islanders in West Prince sends a troubling message that rural Prince Edward Island’s healthcare needs are being forgotten, Perry added.

“The people of West Prince deserve a government that treats access to healthcare as a basic right, not a service that can disappear without warning,” Perry said. “There is no clear plan for the people who depend on these services, and that uncertainty is unacceptable.”