Beck calls for action on diagnostic wait times

REGINA - Today, Official Opposition Leader Carla Beck and Health Critic Vicki Mowat were joined at the Legislature by Jolene Van Alstine, one of the thousands of Saskatchewan people waiting for surgery. Together they called on Scott Moe’s Sask. Party government to address the surgical and diagnostic backlog and to use windfall revenues to incentivize and recruit specialists.

“36,000 Saskatchewan people are waiting for surgery and they’re more than just numbers. All of us know someone - our mom or dad, kids, neighbours, relatives - who is not getting surgery and living in pain because of it,” said Beck. “Saskatchewan people deserve quality healthcare when they need it.”

Jolene, 42, has lived uncomfortably for over six years with Parathyroid Hyperplasia. She experiences abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, and has the bones of an elderly woman, suffering four fractures in the past two years. She and her partner, Miles Sundeen, maintain a temperature of 13 degrees at home to accommodate her irregular body temperature. She has been told that she’ll have to wait another several years for a specialist appointment before she can be placed on the surgery wait list, let alone have a procedure.

“Sadly, Jolene’s story is not unique. Tens of thousands of people are having to choose between waiting years in pain or paying thousands of dollars for treatment elsewhere,” said Mowat. “We urgently need to invest windfall revenues to get more medical specialists to shorten the wait for a diagnosis that is holding many people back from getting the procedures they desperately need.”

-30-

Latest posts

KEVIN WEEDMARK REFUNDS TAXPAYERS FOR JOURNALISM GRANT HIS PAPER RECEIVED

KEVIN WEEDMARK REFUNDS TAXPAYERS FOR JOURNALISM GRANT HIS PAPER RECEIVED The Moosomin-Montmartre MLA Continues Hiding From Media As Questions Grow

REGINA – Today, more questions about embattled MLA Kevin Weedmark have been raised following the release of an article from Grasslands News about his privately owned and operated newspaper, The World Spectator.

BRIGHTON RESIDENTS LEFT IN THE DARK: CARLA BECK'S TEAM CALLS OUT MLA KEN CHEVELDAYOFF OVER PHANTOM SCHOOLS

SASKATOON— Carla Beck's team, joined by local Brighton resident Dr. Sarah Chomicki, is calling on Scott Moe to fulfill his government's broken promises and immediately get to work on a neighborhood school for the rapidly growing community of Brighton.

NEW DATA SHOWS THAT SASKATCHEWAN HAS THE HIGHEST CHILD FOOD BANK USAGE IN CANADA

Beck Commits To School Nutrition Program, Doing All She Can To End Child Poverty
REGINA – Carla Beck’s team is sounding the alarms on new data showing more children in Saskatchewan are forced to rely on the food bank than anywhere else in Canada.

CARLA BECK GOVERNMENT WOULD RESTORE DIRECT-TO-LANDLORD RENT PAYMENTS AS MOOSE JAW FACES RISING HOMELESSNESS

More Affordable Housing, Rent Control Also Part Of Plan Being Developed By Beck’s Team
MOOSE JAW – Carla Beck’s team is in Moose Jaw today committing that, should they form the next provincial government, her team will restore direct-to-landlord rent payments for Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) clients.

NDP Caucus Office