SASKATOON — Problems in the healthcare sector have been ongoing even before and during the campaign, which was one of the issues brought forth by the Saskatchewan-NDP. Almost three months after the election, the Opposition continues to hammer the Saskatchewan Party-led government and challenge them to solve the current crisis.
Shadow Minister for Health Vicki Mowat said the opposition will continue to advocate on behalf of the patients as they continue to pressure the government and reach out to Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill to find a common ground in solving the issues surrounding Saskatchewan’s hospitals and medical facilities.
“We [NDP] are constantly advocating with the minister on behalf of patients on behalf of folks who come forward that are trying to access healthcare. We will continue to do that work and continue to be a voice for the people. It's time for the government to step up,” said Mowat in an interview on Saturday.
“Not that has led to any changes, but we've brought forward a number of solutions over the past few years alongside folks in the community. Alongside the healthcare workers themselves and patients. It starts with having healthcare workers at the table and listening to them. We saw an 11th hour campaign commitment to create a nursing task force from this government.”
Mowat, however, said that it has been over 90 days since the Saskatchewan Party won and formed government but the task force has yet to be formed, adding that it is a great opportunity to hear directly from those who are on the frontlines especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, on how to retain healthcare workers.
“We've provided solutions within the acute care system. How to alleviate the stress on our emergency rooms. Making sure people have access to family doctors and nurse practitioners so that they actually get the care they need when they need it and things don't escalate to getting into emergency,” said Mowat.
“It's a whole system approach. So, when we have folks that can't get into long-term care facilities that also means they're occupying a bed in the hospital when we don't have enough space in our emergency rooms. We've advocated for opening up [Saskatoon] City Hospital emergency room 24-7 to make sure we have the capacity there to deal with emergency.”
She added problems in healthcare is not an easy fix situation since it is a complex system where a lot of pieces are needed to be addressed. However, making the changes could make a meaningful impact with the healthcare workers and staff at the hospitals.
“There's a lot of things that would have to take place. It would start with consultation with the local staff. There they need to make sure that they have the services to support an emergency room 24-7. It definitely couldn't be done overnight but you know we need to look at the resources we have. We need to do the work to make sure that we can actually support the capacity that we have with the people we have,” said Mowat.
“I have had a chance to speak to [the Service Employees International Union]-West [members] and talked through some of their concerns. Short staffing is a really big concern we hear from healthcare workers. It has put healthcare at crisis levels and so being able to retain the health care workers we have by providing adequate wages, providing good incentives for them to hold that work making sure we have full-time jobs across the province that people can apply for are all parts of the equation.”
