REGINA - After a couple of weeks of major health care funding announcements from the provincial government, including newly-signed bilateral funding agreements with the Feds and a new Breast Health Centre coming to Regina, it was the Opposition’s turn this week to pick apart what was still needed to fix health care in Saskatchewan.
The New Democrats focused their attention at the Legislature this week on a host of issues including staffing levels in health care, access to family doctors, and the large number of medical grads not staying in the province.
This renewed opposition focus on health comes a week after the provincial government committed a record $7.6 billion investment to the Ministry of Health in the 2024-25 Budget. But that commitment has done little to impress Opposition members.
On Monday during Question Period, Opposition Leader Carla Beck grilled Premier Scott Moe on the issue of Saskatchewan medical grads leaving the province, as recorded in Hansard.
Ms. Beck: — “…Only 14 per cent of new pediatric specialists stayed in the province last year. Meanwhile the waits to see a doctor at the children’s hospital are long and growing longer.
“What does the Premier have to say to Saskatchewan parents who are waiting month after month with a sick child, waiting for an appointment while 86 per cent of new grads are leaving for other provinces?
Hon. Mr. Moe: — “Mr. Speaker, I would say to those families that this is a government that is entirely committed to attracting more physicians into our health care system, attracting more nurses into our health care system, attracting more medical professionals of all disciplines into our health care system, Mr. Speaker, and into multiple communities across this province.”
Regina Walsh Acres MLA Jared Clarke also roasted Premier Scott Moe over a lack of family doctors, also recorded in Hansard.
Mr. Clarke: — …. Mr. Speaker, this minister can’t keep medical grads in this province, and he can’t keep family doctors here either. Last week we learned that since this Premier came to office six years ago, there are 14 fewer family doctors practising in Saskatchewan. Hundreds of thousands of Saskatchewan people without a family doctor in this province waiting at walk-in clinics and emergency rooms, unable to access basic care that they need and they deserve. How does this minister defend his record when so many people are going without basic health care?…
Hon. Mr. Moe: — "Mr. Speaker, what we got is just a lesson in how the members opposite, Mr. Speaker, actually read the data that comes out. Mr. Speaker, when he references physicians — and I think it’s 14 fewer physicians — he’s only counting, he’s only counting fee-for-service physicians, Mr. Speaker. He is not counting all of the salary-paid positions across this province, Mr. Speaker. That, Mr. Speaker, seems to be what NDP math looks like, Mr. Speaker…”
Mr. Clarke: — “….I’m not going to take my notes from the Premier. I’m going to take them from the 200,000 people in this province who don’t have access to a family doctor right now ...Why, why are there fewer rural family doctors providing health care today than there were when Brad Wall was Premier?”
Hon. Mr. Moe: — “Appreciate, Mr. Speaker, the lesson on rural Saskatchewan residents driving hours to access their health care, Mr. Speaker, largely due to the closure of 52 hospitals by the members opposite.”
Minister of Health Everett Hindley also got in the act, responding that the government’s track record on recruiting and retaining doctors “is one that is very solid.”
Hon. Mr. Hindley: — " …Since 2007 you’ve heard us talk about over 1,000 more physicians in this province prior to 2007, Mr. Speaker. In the past 28 months, 107 family physicians and 155 specialists have been recruited to our province for a total of 262 physicians. In just the past six months alone, Mr. Speaker, 24 family physicians and 29 specialists have been recruited to Saskatchewan. It includes 11 physicians from outside of the country, Mr. Speaker.
Hindley also pointed to the new contract with the Saskatchewan Medical Association as going “a long way towards retention of doctors and bringing even more doctors into our hospitals and health care facilities in this province.”
In speaking to reporters afterwards, Hindley said the numbers they track show there are more doctors in their health care facilities.
“Do those numbers fluctuate? Yes, they do,” said Hindley. “There are always doctors retiring, there’s doctors coming out of school, and being employed, and doctors moving to other communities.”
But Hindley acknowledged that “yes, we still have vacancies to fill. Yes, we’re still trying to find doctors for rural communities, of course, physicians for a major centres as well.”
Still concerns about breast cancer care
On Tuesday, the focus shifted to breast cancer care. The concerns of one individual encountering delays were raised by Opposition Leader Carla Beck.
Ms. Beck: — “Today, Mr. Speaker, we’re joined by Shannon Orell-Bast. Shannon was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in August of 2022. And, Mr. Speaker, she’s here today because she has faced delay after delay in getting treatment.
“What does the Premier have to say to Shannon and to all Saskatchewan women who have had to wait for breast cancer care in this province?
Hon. Mr. Moe: — “Mr. Speaker, I would say to Shannon and all women, some of which I know, that are going through breast cancer treatment, that this government is entirely committed to ensuring that we are reducing not only the wait time for women to get into the screening programs that we have, but also lowering the age so that more women can get those screening opportunities at an earlier age, Mr. Speaker…”
Ms. Beck: — “What it’s a testament to is this government ignoring problems until it’s an election year. This is their problem, Mr. Speaker. Shannon has faced barrier after barrier in trying to access breast cancer . . . that she needs. She’s had 16 rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, 25 rounds of radiation. Mr. Speaker, she’s had to fight tooth and nail to access those treatments. But she’s a fighter.
"Why did the Premier mismanage our health care system so badly that women like Shannon have to wait for months for the care that they desperately need?”
Hon. Mr. Moe: — “Mr. Speaker, first and foremost I would say that the Minister of Health would like to meet with Shannon to ensure that the path that she’s taking through the health care system is as expedient as possible and ensure that the first opportunity that we have for, whether it be a mammography, whether it be for diagnostics, Mr. Speaker, is made available…”
Ms. Beck: — “Mr. Speaker, Shannon has met with the minister. And I dare say she could teach everyone in this room something about navigating the system.”
In meeting reporters following Question Period, Orell-Bast made it known that one part that she thought was missing was concern for the health and well-being of health care providers.
“The mission statement in SHA is ‘we work together to improve health and well-being every day for everyone,’ and that everyone includes healthcare workers — because if they’re not well, we’re not well,” said Orell-Bast, who herself works in health care.
“Don’t tell me we’re shortstaffed, fix the problem. Why are we shortstaffed?”
She also accused the government MLAs in the house during the introductions of “not respecting you, we’re not acknowledging your introductions today and we’re not paying attention to you. People need to listen.”
Estevan MRI to go ahead
One piece of health care news that emerged from the budget, and which was highlighted this week, is that a proposed MRI for Estevan is indeed going ahead.
The MEI had initially not gotten the green light from the province a year earlier even after it emerged that a private donor had come forward offering a major donation of $2 million for the MRI, creating a bit of a firestorm of controversy at the time. In speaking to reporters this week, Minister Hindley explained what changed.
“I think when it was first brought to light, that we have a set of criteria that the Ministry of Health and the SHA uses to determine the location and expansion of diagnostic services, such as CT scans and MRIs, and I think at the time it didn’t fit the necessary criteria in terms of further expansion for capacity….
“Plus there wasn’t a proposal built around it by the operator of the hospital, Emmanuel Health or the healthcare foundation and that’s typically how we advance these sort of requests when they come in,” said Hindley.
Hindley said he spoke with the private donor and also spoke to the healthcare foundation in Estevan, as well as Emmanuel Health, and suggested they consider putting together a proposal.
“So that happened, Emmanuel Health and the foundation pulled together a proposal of what this could possibly look like… as you know it’s more than just the purchase of the machine itself, it’s renovations of the facility that are often required when it comes to putting in diagnostics, and you also have to incorporate and factor in the staffing that’s required. So it does require a thorough review and proposal to be submitted by the proponents to the Ministry; that came in just prior to Christmas from Emmanuel Health.”
While there is a commitment to the MRI, the operation of it is not included as a specific line item in this year’s budget, said Hindley. The reason for that is they only recently made the decision on it having reviewed the proposal, and they want to work to develop some new and expanded criteria so they “have a better model in place, I guess I would say, to be able to consider these types of proposals as they come forward.”
