The Saskatchewan NDP are releasing new data highlighting what they say is Premier Scott Moe and the Sask. Party’s failure to deliver on healthcare in the province.
According to data acquired through a freedom of information request from the NDP, over 8,600 days — or more than 200,000 hours — of healthcare blackouts happened in rural Sask. between Aug. 1, 2019, and May 10, 2024. A blackout occurs when a hospital is closed.
“But perhaps most alarming is that 4,299 days of the reported service blackouts involved emergency and acute care services,” said Jared Clarke, opposition critic for rural and remote health.
Data also shows one in five nurses have left rural Saskatchewan during that time and, since 2017, surgery wait times are up 57 per cent.
“The data covers healthcare service disruptions for 48 hospitals across Saskatchewan — basically every hospital outside of Regina and Saskatoon,” Clarke explained.
Clarke spoke about people who have told him they found their health-care facilities closed without notice and then travelled to a facility in a nearby community that was closed.
Clarke said the issues just show the lack of transparency.
“Community members don’t know when their hospital is all of sudden going to be closed,” he said.
Opposition health critic Vicki Mowat said the state of healthcare at its core is a management issue, not a budget one. Mowat was quick to call out Moe and his government for what the NDP said is putting Saskatchewan’s healthcare in last place.
“They’ve been slow to implement changes and we need to see real changes,” Mowat said about the government.
“For us, our priorities are making life affordable and making sure everyone has access to healthcare when they need it. And making sure our kids have access to high-quality education. Its decisions that are based on management of money, not necessarily needing to add to the pot.”
Moe responded to the news Friday, saying the entire country is seeing disruptions and there is some success worth celebrating. He said the focus is on making any disruptions only temporary.
“That’s why we’ve invested over $100 million in that ambitious health human resource plan,” Moe said. “To hire more nurses, to hire more continuing care assistants, more physicians and to train more without expanding trading seats right here in the province.
“Over 1,300 Canadian nurses were hired in the last 18 months into a Saskatchewan health care community facility. Over 300 nurses from the Philippines have moved to Saskatchewan and are working in a Saskatchewan community and healthcare facility as well.”
As for what the NDP’s plan would look like for health care if elected, Clarke said their platform would be released in the coming weeks.