My question is to the Minister of Health.

I’ve heard from a local nurse on sick leave who has been suffering from debilitating pain connected to endometriosis. Her local OB/GYN can’t help her, because her nerves are affected. She was referred to see a neuro-pelvic OB/GYN, but apparently there’s only one in Canada, who only works here half the year. She sits on this waiting list, doesn’t have an appointment date. She’s in bed-bound pain. Once she has the appointment, she may have another 12 to 24 months to wait for the surgery. She has no hope in sight. She has said that a surgeon in the States has quoted her $60,000 for the surgery she needs, but she cannot afford to cover it, due to Bill 124 and no wage increases over the last few years and inflation.

She said, “Seems to me the Ontario government should be doing everything possible to keep an experienced nurse at the bedside, yet I am sidelined with debilitating pain and can’t get the help I desperately need. What can I do? Because at 33 years old, MAID is looking pretty tempting.”

When will this government fund our hospitals so we can meet the needs of desperate and suffering complex medical patients like this nurse?