Williams Seeks Heart Surgery In U.S. Because It Is Not Available In N.L.

Premier Danny Williams of Newfoundland and Labrador is undergoing heart surgery in the United States later this week because the treatment he is seeking was not available in his home province, his deputy premier said Tuesday.

Williams, 60, decided to go to the U.S. for surgery after weeks of consultation with his doctors, Kathy Dunderdale said. “Having the surgery done in the province was never an option,” Dunderdale said.

“Obviously, it’s taken some time to have the diagnosis, progress, consultation with a number of medical experts, so it has taken several weeks.”

Dunderdale would not reveal what the surgery was beyond the fact that it was heart surgery. She also declined to say where and what day it will take place and whether the type of surgery Williams is having was available elsewhere in the country.

“Ultimately we have to be the gatekeepers of our own health and he has taken medical advice from a number of different sources … He is doing what’s best for him,” she said.

Dunderdale said she wasn’t sure if the premier was covering his own medical costs.

“I would expect that he is eligible for all that the rest of us would be in terms of our own private insurance or government insurance and I’m sure if there’s anything over and above that the premier will certainly take care of it himself.”

Williams, an independently wealthy former lawyer and businessman who donates his premier’s salary to charity, will take anywhere from three to 12 weeks to recover, Dunderdale added.

He will speak publicly about his condition once he is well enough to do so, she added.

“He’s more than prepared to talk about this whole process … once he recovers.”

She said the medical advice he has received is that the prognosis for a full recovery was “very good.”

His decision to go to the U.S. for health care has triggered a heated debate online, particularly in a province that has tried to restore public confidence in its health care services after a major scandal involving botched breast cancer tests.

Williams is a hockey buff who played in a recreational league until recently. He last met reporters Friday after a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and looked relaxed and fit.

The father of four grown children has four grandchildren.

In an interview last year, Williams spoke candidly about the stresses and frustrations of the job he has held since 2003.

Williams openly mused about his occupational choice. Still, Williams has said repeatedly in recent months that he has every intention of running in the next provincial election slated for 2011.

Dunderdale will serve as the province’s acting premier while Williams recovers.

In Newfoundland, Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones and NDP Leader Lorraine Michael both expressed concern for Williams and offered their best wishes for his full and fast recovery.

But, Jones also said Williams owes the public more of an explanation about exactly what procedure he needs and why he felt it necessary to go to the U.S.

She said her office hears all the time about patients on long wait lists for various services in the province, she said.

Jones said the province has worked hard to restore confidence since the breast cancer testing debacle but added that she is concerned news about Williams will shake the public’s faith in local health care once again.

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