With no back-up plan to solve a health care crisis of their own making, the Harper government is now responsible for compromising the health of thousands of cancer and cardiac patients who rely on nuclear isotopes for medical tests, Liberal opposition critics said today.

“We called over a hundred hospitals and clinics that do nuclear medicine across Canada, and 83 per cent have reported medical isotope shortages, with over half experiencing significant shortages,” said Liberal Health Critic Carolyn Bennett. “The unavoidable result is a lower quality of care, through no fault of front-line health care providers who have been working around the clock to minimize the impact on patients.”

The Liberals’ findings add to today’s report that 27,000 medical tests have been delayed in Quebec since the end of May as a result of the shut-down of the federally-run Chalk River nuclear reactor, responsible for over a third of world nuclear medical isotope supply.

“The delays in Quebec are entirely unacceptable,” said Liberal Quebec Lieutenant Denis Coderre. “Provinces have been left scrambling to address dwindling isotope supplies and increased costs, with no help from the Harper government.”

Calls by the Liberal opposition to hospitals and clinics found the most severe shortages in parts of Ontario, with shortfalls impacting patients from Alberta and British Columbia right across the country to Newfoundland. The federal government has yet to respond to a request from Ontario for additional support to address the crisis.

“Instead of falsely assuring Canadians that Chalk River would continue producing medical isotopes as they did when the leak was first discovered, the Harper government should have seen the gravity of the impending crisis and developed a back-up plan,” concluded Dr. Bennett. “Now the country, and indeed the world, is suffering from the ill-effects of a crisis that could have been avoided.”