COVID not an excuse to overlook sexual and women's health care, Greens say

Green MLA Hannah Bell says P.E.I. needs to do more to prioritize the health care of women after some of the province's programs and sexual health services have been "cancelled until further notice."

The women's wellness program was launched in 2017 to offer sexual health and reproductive health services for all Islanders, regardless of gender or age. It provides screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, birth control prescriptions, abortion services as well as a variety of counselling and education services, even to those without a family doctor.

According to Health PEI's web page for the program, "after-hours walk-in clinics, as well as visits in Souris, O'Leary and Alberton are cancelled until further notice." Bell raised the issue in the legislature Tuesday.

"If women's and sexual health services are not available in rural P.E.I., or out of hours, how is this government providing fair and quality access to services for Islanders?" Bell asked Health Minister Ernie Hudson.

"Yes, it has created some challenges in the health-care system as it has right across government," Hudson said of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Bell said issues with these health-care services are not new and not related to the pandemic. 

"The women's wellness program has been challenged from the beginning in being sort of, what we feel, appropriately funded and supported. There still isn't a strategy that sort of says what's out there," she said.

"Those who have been able to access it, you know, it's great. The services are really client centred, it's a really great set of services."

Without clinics and program services in Souris, O'Leary and Alberton, Islanders are left with two options: The Mount in Charlottetown and the Prince County Hospital in Summerside.

'It says it's not a priority'

After the exchange, Bell told CBC News that she believes part of the issue is that there is a legacy of leaving women out of policy decisions about their own health care, even though they make up half the population.

"The other issue I raised is about the overall challenges for women to access ob-gyn services, but you need a referral primarily, which is already a challenge if you don't have a family doctor," she said.

"But even with a self-referral, there isn't actually capacity for anybody to be taken on right now as a patient, and that's a real challenge." 

She said she hears about these challenges from constituents and shared the example of one: a woman with a gynecological condition who requires treatment from an ob-gyn, but like many Islanders, doesn't have a family doctor.

This is basic health care for 50 per cent of the population.— Hannah Bell, Green MLA

"She needs her file. She needs a referral, but without a referral she's been denied," Bell said, adding the woman was told there weren't enough resources and she was also denied an off-Island referral.

"What does she do now? She knows she actually needs an intervention, she actually needs treatment and she's overdue for when that should have happened, but no one was willing. Basically the answer was just 'no.'"

Bell said this lack of resources is a problem because it also means Island women aren't able to easily access preventive gynecological care like Pap tests, biopsies or regular checkups.

"That's not going to happen for women, and that hasn't really been available broadly for much longer than COVID has been with us," she said.

"Unfortunately it says it's not a priority."

A 'huge' range for few health-care professionals

The MLA said the issue of the lack of care providers in the area of women's and sexual health is only further stretched by how much care they are expected to provide.

"They're doing pre-natal, they're doing maternal care, they're doing postpartum care, they're dealing with complex cases, they're doing referrals to the IWK," she said.

"There's also people who may have a sexually transmitted disease. It could even be people that are going through gender affirming surgery … early intervention for cancers, so, that's such a huge range of things."

Bell said the issue needs to be treated with importance.

"This is basic health care for 50 per cent of the population. This should not be something that we have trouble talking about. This is not 'ladies' problems,' this is women's health care," she said.

"If this was for a different condition, an answer of no would not be acceptable." 

She said she'd like to see the government outline a strategy on this issue, talk to service providers and also move on offering midwifery services to lighten the load. Bell also said she thinks services are better than they were five years ago.

"That doesn't mean we're done," she said. 

After the exchange in the house, Hudson said he agreed these were important issues that required follow up, and told the house he'd be happy to have a conversation with Bell to help her constituent. 

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