The interim report and summary comes as part of the ongoing Your Care, Your Say project (
YourCareYourSay.ca) and identifies six major themes that define the crisis in healthcare, which is worse than ever after 20 years of Sask. Party failures.
The themes are:
- Primary Care is Not Primary: A System Without a Front Door
- Centralization Without Results: The Loss of Accountability and Local Decision-Making Under the SHA
- In The Dark & No Seat at the Table: Exclusion, Lack of Transparency, Communication Breakdown
- Burnt Out and Shut Out: Healthcare Provider Retention Must Be The Focus
- Pressure and Declining Access: A System Responding to Crises Instead of Preventing Them
- Waste, Mismanagement, and the Rise of For-Profit Care
“People can’t find a family doctor, our hospitals are overrun, workers are burning out and leaving the profession and rural emergency rooms close without warning — the system is literally crumbling all around us,” Beck said. “Still, the resolve of Saskatchewan people is incredible — they know we used to lead the nation in healthcare and we can do it again.
“They believe we can fix this and deliver healthcare that is focused on patients, supports workers and that is transparent. People told us clearly — it’s time for change in Saskatchewan healthcare.”
The report also lays out five principles that will guide healthcare policy development in the months to come:
- Make primary care the foundation of the healthcare system.
- Put patients and communities back at the centre of decision-making.
- Support and retain healthcare workers.
- Improve transparency, accountability and access to information.
- Strengthen public healthcare through better planning and stewardship.
“This report is about listening to Saskatchewan people and what they believe the future of our healthcare should look like,” said Meara Conway, Shadow Minister for Health.
“Here’s what we know — the Sask. Party spends $8.6 billion on healthcare for a population of 1.2 million and still, despite this, it keeps getting worse.
“Saskatchewan people have made it clear they don’t want more excuses, photo ops and Ministers that tell them everything is alright when it’s clearly not. They want action and that’s exactly what our team is going to deliver.”
“The six core principles Saskatchewan people have identified create a roadmap for rebuilding and reimagining healthcare. The next phase is about action. We will continue working with patients, healthcare workers, communities and experts to develop and release detailed solutions that address the root causes of Saskatchewan’s healthcare crisis.”
Jared Clarke, Shadow Minister for Rural and Remote Health, said ending the healthcare crisis is existential for so many Saskatchewan communities.
“When a community can’t trust that its local hospital is open, it’s harder to attract families, keep workers, support seniors and grow the local economy,” Clarke said. “People are tired of Saskatchewan Health Authority executives in Regina who won’t listen to the local voices that want to be part of the solution in their communities.
“People want local voices respected, local knowledge valued and healthcare services that meet the realities of rural, northern and remote Saskatchewan.”
Keith Jorgenson, Associate Shadow Minister for Health, is actively collecting petitions from rural leaders who support the push from Beck’s team for real-time reporting of emergency room closures.
“This is a government that hides potentially lifesaving information to try to protect their political hides,” Jorgenson said. “They’re more focused on making it look like they’re fixing healthcare than actually fixing healthcare. Saskatchewan people deserve better.”
Nathaniel Teed, Labour Shadow Minister, said Saskatchewan’s incredible frontline workers will continue to be at the centre of the work being done to deliver a better future for healthcare.
“Frontline workers are holding the system together without any support from the Sask. Party,” Teed said. “They deserve a government that’s got their backs, that supports them, respects them and that delivers a contract for so many that have gone four-straight years with nothing while Scott Moe’s friends at the top made bank.”
Beck’s team will also be working further in the months ahead on solutions to address the unprecedented crisis in mental health and addictions. Saskatchewan has the longest waits for mental health services in Canada. Emergency calls for drug overdoses have skyrocketed by 800 per cent since Scott Moe became Premier.
“People are dying on our streets,” said Leroy Laliberte, Shadow Minister for Mental Health & Addictions. “We need investment in the frontlines and a real action plan to meet this crisis head on. How many more families will go to funerals and mourn people who could have been saved? Enough is enough — it’s time for real solutions.”
Jacqueline Roy, Shadow Minister for Women’s Health, said a Carla Beck government will end the need for women to leave Saskatchewan for cancer care and make women’s health a priority.
“Women have had enough,” Roy said. “They are in pain and describe feeling abandoned. They are forced to stay home sick or leave the workforce altogether because they can’t get the care they need. We will deliver the publicly funded healthcare they deserve.
“From cancer care to menopause and perinatal health, and so much more, Saskatchewan women deserve better. My message to them is this: We hear you, and change is on the way.”
The Your Care, Your Say project has already spurred the introduction of several critical pieces of legislation from Beck’s team, including:
- Bill 606 - The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure right-to-know) Amendment Act
- Bill 610 - The Provincial Health Authority (ER Virtual Physician right-to-know) Amendment Act
- Bill 614 - The Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance (Banning Private Fees) Amendment Act
- Bill 615 - The Provincial Health Authority (Banning Parking Fees for Cancer Patients) Amendment Act
- Bill 617 - The Provincial Health Authority (Family Physician Registry) Amendment Act
- Bill 618 - The Provincial Health Authority (Prohibiting Anonymous Reporting Mechanisms) Amendment Act
- Bill 622 - The Provincial Health Authority (Executive Pay Freeze) Amendment Act
- Bill 630 - The Public Health Care Transparency and Accountability Act
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