For Immediate Release
March 26, 2025
Today, NL NDP Leader Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre) sent a letter to the Premier, along with NL Health Services (NLHS) CEO Pat Parfrey and the Acting Minister of Health, to sound the alarm after doctors at the Janeway reached out saying they feel “blindsided” regarding a plan to move the adult Gynecology unit into the Janeway.
“This plan is unexpected, unnecessarily disruptive, and at odds with the mandate of the Janeway to provide excellence in specialized healthcare in a compassionate, supportive environment, to our province’s sick and injured children,” Dinn writes. “Medical staff felt blindsided since they were unaware of the Gynecology Department move but had been supportive of a 3-4 year thoughtful and orchestrated plan to move Obstetrics into the Janeway. This would be a natural extension of the hospital’s mandate; a Gynecology unit is not.”
Dinn questions the reasoning for this move, as it will not only impact women receiving gynecology services, stating that these adult services should stay close to Adult Acute Care and the ER, but will also impact children and new mothers who are already noticing the squeeze.
“As well, Pediatric Surgical and Medical units will be combined into one. Teaching rooms and playrooms for children and youth will likely be sacrificed. There will be less meeting space for nursing and medical students, a key component of their training,” Dinn writes. “Children will be forced to share rooms with other children at peak infectious times, not an acceptable practice for Pediatrics.”
“I urge you to stick to the original plan and find the bed capacity for adults outside of the Janeway. If this is an issue of acute care beds being occupied by long term care patients, address that problem. Engage in meaningful consultation and conversations with your medical professionals on the ground. They are the people who know the system and make it work.”
“This is yet another example of the government's lack of planning, instead making hasty changes to try to solve problems, which ultimately leads to a cascading number of other problems,” said Dinn.
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For further information, contact Stephanie Curran, Media and Communications Officer, NDP Caucus at 330-0328 (o), or stephaniecurran@gov.nl.ca