NDP leader has check up on K-W healthcare concerns

Ontario opposition and NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Waterloo Region Thursday for a check up on the state of local health care.

Horwath was planning to sit down at an invitation-only meeting in Kitchener to hear from both healthcare providers and the experience of patients at St. Mary's General Hospital and Grand River Hospital in Kitchener.

"There continues to be a problem with access to service and wait times at hospitals," said Horwath. "We know there's also concerns around access to specialized care, specifically cardiac care."

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She's expected to hear from medical staff about concerns with the cardiac electrophysiology laboratory at St. Mary's, and be told of the current experiences encountered in local emergency rooms.

Horwath said "hallway medicine" continues to happen in the community, a challenge she says that affects people who are not receiving the dignity of care they expect.