REGINA - The opposition New Democrats were on the attack again last week over a closure at the intensive care unit of Battlefords Union Hospital.
Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck and Rural and Remote Health Critic Matt Love held a media event in Regina in conjunction with their campaign in three provincial byelections called for August 10. At that media event, they pointed to a leaked Saskatchewan Health Authority memo indicating the ICU at BUH has been closed for weeks.
The SHA memo released to the media, which was dated July 6, had stated the ICU at BUH would temporarily close July 13 to August 3 inclusive.
“During the closure, scheduled ICU staff will work out of the Emergency Department. Inpatient telemetry and code blue responses will remain operational. Nursing unit and physicians may call the Emergency Department to speak to the ICU staff to obtain a telemetry reading and patient history.”
The memo also stated that if staffing can be sought, the intensive care unit may reopen prior to August 3.
“The Sask. Party has broken our healthcare system and they’re doing everything they can to hide their failures from the people of Saskatchewan,” said Beck in a statement. “It’s time to admit that their recruitment plan is failing. They aren’t working with healthcare workers, they aren’t working with local leaders, and communities across the province are paying the price.”
The NDP also called out the closure for not being listed on the SHA service disruptions page.
“We’re now regularly getting leaked information from frontline healthcare workers across the province. They hear what this Sask. Party government is saying in the media and healthcare workers know this Health Minister isn’t being transparent or honest. They’re fed up,” said Love in a statement.
It is known that the Battlefords Union Hospital has been undergoing a major capital improvement to its operating room during that same period. Saskatchewan Health Authority had already announced they had instituted temporary changes to surgical services at BUH.
As of 5 p.m. on Friday July 21, they stated surgical services would be temporarily unavailable at BUH, but would resume at half capacity at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, August 1. Full resumption of surgical services was expected on Tuesday, August 8 at 8 a.m.
No surgeries had been cancelled, stated the SHA, as this was a planned improvement project. SHA had also stated in their news release that obstetrical patients whose pregnancy is considered high-risk should contact their obstetrician or family physician in advance of their due date to discuss their birth plan.
