Thank you for reaching out and for sending along these questions. This is a deeply personal topic for me as a very close family member went through the problem of a delay in screening and treatment due to the pandemic that made his situation much more serious, creating additional stress and pain.
I have already answered a survey regarding increased lung cancer screening, where I have pledged my support to expand this vital service throughout the province. It is a crucial that we increase this area of preventative medicine, especially as we will see rising air pollution due to the climate crisis. We see this already in western Canada with the number and extent of wildfires.
Regarding the surgery backlog, our party has put in a plan in our platform to address the backlog and get surgeries happening again. Too many people have waited too long to get the urgent care that they need.
At the core, the GPO believes in preventative medicine, not only is it better for the wellbeing of citizens, but it reduces the financial and other pressures on our hospitals. That would include addressing poverty, homelessness, food security, the state of the environment etc. But, it also includes investing in primary care, which is crucial in catching illness early. Our platform includes policies to expand healthcare options across the province through community health centres. Having expanded primary healthcare services across the province will help fight cancer. In addition, women should absolutely have access to mammograms after 40 and should have access to more frequent cervical screening; these are crucial to women’s health.
Thank you again for reaching out,
Carol Dyck
Green Party candidate for London North Centre