Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen is deeply disappointed in how long it is taking to fix the front entrance at the Bethesda Regional Health Centre. Complaints started as soon as it opened last year that the front steps were too steep and the wheelchair ramp too narrow. The province recently announced some modifications would be done to improve the wheelchair ramp and also installed a 'call for assistance' button at the bottom of the stairs. Goertzen says the government has known for more than a year that the entrance is not adequate.

"Now more than a year later, we find out that the fix, at least for now, is a button that is supposed to help beam people up, I guess, to the top of the hospital and people are going to come and try to help them up which is all very nice except that's probably not the best use of medical staff, to be helping people up a staircase. And the ramp, ultimately, is not a good solution when you have to have a passing lane and have people negotiate passage. You simply can't have a hospital that is difficult for people who are sick, or dealing with mobility issues, to get into."

Goertzen says everyone is in agreement that Bethesda needs a ground level entrance and he is critical of the NDP Government for dragging its heels in making this change.

"What frustrates me is that there isn't a lot of division on this. It's not as though there are a bunch of different people who feel that this is acceptable, what's at Bethesda right now. Everybody's unified that this isn't acceptable and isn't workable and yet, it's taken us a year to get to this point. Well, if everybody is in agreement that there has to be a ground level entrance, why is is taking so long? I think it's taking this long because the government just simply wants to delay this decision and extend it out. And, I think that's not only unfortunate but it's very disrespectful of people who need to use the hospital."