REGINA - Health care workers were sounding the alarm at the legislature Monday over the state of working conditions in the system.
Opposition New Democrats stood alongside a delegation of medical technologists and technicians. They pointed to a CUPE member survey pointing to major issues.
Among the report findings, according to an NDP news release: 79.5 per cent reported working short-staffed, 74.4 per cent say the failure to fill vacancies is leading to burnout, half have witnessed service closures due to short staffing, 72 per cent reported doing unpaid work to keep the system running, and 91 per cent said increased workloads were impacting patient health and safety.
Bashir Jalloh, president of CUPE 5430, pointed to other numbers. He said the workload has “skyrocketed.”
Nearly 88 per cent of respondents reported their workload has increased over the past five years. 79.5 per cent reported working short-staffed, 74.4 per cent say the failure to fill vacancies is leading to burnout, and half have witnessed service closures due to short staffing.
More than 85 per cemt of respondents said that they are working through their break, and 72 per cent reported working unpaid hours. “Why? Because we are healthcare workers” Jalloh said.
“We cannot leave our patients in the waiting room and go home. Patients are suffering. Over 90 per cent says their increased workload has impacted both the quality of care and patient safety.”
Jalloh also said workers' health and morale are declining. More than a third reported that their workload has significantly affected their personal health, and staff morale was at an all time low.
“These numbers are shocking but they are not surprising to us. We've been hearing this for the past three to five years. Saskatchewan's healthcare system is stretched beyond the limits.”
Among those at the media availability was Dexter Mercer, a medical radiation technologist at Battlefords Union Hospital in Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill’s riding of the Battlefords. He told reporters that he had been personally experienced working over 50 hours straight with no longer than 45 minutes between callbacks, leaving little time to rest.
Those hours included on-call hours, but Mercer reported he was called in constantly during those times.
“It is very common to be called back several times in the evening and night, grossly interrupting time generally used for decompression from stress and sleep to prepare for the day ahead. This leads to our next scheduled shift, and this can continue anywhere from one to five shifts in a row. Currently, there is almost no language in the collective agreement protecting us from the amount of time we can be expected to be on call.”
Mercer said it was after one of those stretches of shifts that extreme exhaustion took its toll on me, and he lost consciousness and rolled his vehicle into a lamppost in the middle of the night.
“After this incident, I sought medical help to get a doctor's note from my family physician prescribing a reduction in the number of shifts that I could be scheduled on call. In an effort to recover from my burnout and create a safer work environment for myself and for my patients, this note was disregarded by administration and I was forced to return to my regular duties.”
Mercer now says he is leaving his full time position and will be working for a local bank.
“Too many healthcare workers have been in Dexter's shoes, pushed beyond the breaking point, and as a result, leaving full-time work.
We need to focus on the future and listen to the people on the front lines,” said NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat.
Mowat pointed to “18 years of Sask Party cuts” as responsible.
When speaking to reporters later on in the day Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he had spoken with CUPE on a number of occasions prior.
“We definitely, we certainly have some challenges when it comes to… some specific imaging departments around the province. This is exactly what we're trying to address with our Health Human Resources Action Plan and ensure that, you know, the vacancies that are present can be filled. That's why we've doubled training seats over the last couple of years at the Sask Poly program. We've added incentives in place to attract those graduates and make sure they stay in Saskatchewan, specifically rural Saskatchewan. So, you know, again, there's challenges.
We're working to address those. It takes some time, but we're starting to see some progress there.”
Cockrill was also asked about the lack of progress towards a contract with CUPE workers, who have gone without a contract since 2023. Cockrill said negotiations are ongoing.
“I've had the opportunity to share some of the government's priorities as part of the bargaining process. You know, we're not going to bargain on the floor of the House or in the rotunda. But, you know, I think there'll be an opportunity here shortly to really let the rubber hit the road when it comes to bargaining. Because, you know, I know CUPE members around the province want to get to an agreement. Government wants to get to an agreement as well. Then we can focus on the operational issues that we have and improving those.”
In response to Cockrill’s comments, Jalloh thanked the minister for meeting with them previously and also his willingness to meet with them that afternoon. He said he was happy to hear Cockrill is going to talk to the SHA’s CEO Andrew Will about the staffing situation, and was also happy that Cockrill said he meet with folks in Lloydminster, North Battleford and Prince Albert about the situation there.
“But the problem with what we heard from the Minister is a lot of this recycled information. We’ve heard this before…. We want to see meaningful changes.”
