Nurse Practioner Stalemate

Hopefully Andy and Jim won't mind me posting this. Hopefully others will read and support the return of the nurse practioner.

DHA shows its true coloursAs of tonight, we have come to a stalemate in our attempt to get Karen rehired as our nurse practitioner. In the past 36 hours the DHA put forward a set of non-negotiable demands, which no one in their right mind would or could accept. The demands would be charitably described as punitive. Vindictive is another word that leaps to mind. In essence their demands are designed to humiliate rather than heal. Over the last eight weeks we have asked you to trust us…as we did in others we were dealing with. Our trust was misplaced. At the end, the knowledge our communities have that Karen is a wonderful nurse practitioner, who suits us just fine, didn’t matter to the decision makers. Some wanted blood. Others just wanted this whole thing to go away. In the end, the importance of “process” won out over our health care. There is nothing left to negotiate with the DHA. They have demonstrated beyond any doubt that our lack of confidence in them is entirely justified. We now have to explore our options, as Karen explores hers. Unless the Government is convinced to come up with a new plan soon, she will most certainly have to leave this place. Nova Scotia, and especially our Islands, are going to lose a top notch health professional because of the petty actions of health care bureaucrats. The community will have to come together soon to decide on the next steps we want to take. I, for one, am not defeated. The disregard these people have for what is right and important doesn’t just make me angry, it energizes me for the fight ahead. I’d propose a community meeting for Saturday afternoon at the Community Hall in Freeport. Andy and Jim