Quebec election candidates pledge to fix Gatineau hospital woes

Candidates in the upcoming Quebec electionare promising to fix staff and resource shortages atGatineau's hospitals that havepreventedpatientsfrom receiving urgent care.

The city's hospitals have beencoping with limited staff and resources this summer, which has causedovercrowding, lengthywait times, anddifficult working conditions.

Marysa Nadeau, theParti Qubcois candidate for the riding of Hull, says solutions do exist but political will is required to pursue them.

"When you want to fix a problem, you have to recognize the problem first," she told Radio-Canada in a French language interview.

"In the Parti Qubcois, we recognize that health in the Outaouais is underfunded, and we recognize that we have to put money back into the system."

'It does not work'

TheCoalition Avenir Qubecis planning to unveila health platform specifically for the Outaouaisregion, said the party's candidate for Hull, Rachel Bourdon.

"Health Minister Gatan Barrette's reform [helped] crush a system that was already suffering,"Bourdonsaid. "We see it every week in the news. It does not work."

Benoit Renaud, who's running in Hull for Qubec Solidaire, is callingfor greater equitybetween the regions of Quebec in regards to the healthcare support they receive.

"There is another $150 million that we are missing in terms of health funding when we compare ourselves to other regions," he said.

Meetings to find solutions

TheOutaouaisreceives less funding compared to other regions in the province including theSaguenayLac-Saint-Jean area, which has 115,000 fewer residents.

Last week, after several surgeries were cancelled and delayed at the Hull Hospital, officials therepledged tocommunicate better with hospitalpatients.

At one point, more than 20 orthopedic surgery patients were on the hospital's wait list, without an accurate idea of when they'd be seen.

With less than two months left until the provincial election, there's an expectation that Gatineau'shealthcare issues will be a focus of debates along the campaign trail.

Maryse Gaudreault, the Liberal MNA for Hull, said she wouldcomment on the health situation in Gatineau late Tuesday afternoon, after meeting with the Outaouais Integrated Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS), as well as surgeons and doctors.

Gaudreaultsaid that after a meeting last week, the government has been inclose collaboration with CISSS Outaouais.

"We know the realities, we know the needs and we will have the opportunity to make proposals to you during the next election campaign," she said.

Quebec residents go to the polls on Oct. 1.