CARLA BECK’S TEAM URGES SASK. PARTY TO SUPPORT BILL REQUIRING REAL-TIME REPORTING OF EMERGENCY ROOM CLOSURES

Official Opposition Gets To Force Formal Vote On One Piece Of Legislation Per Session
REGINA — Carla Beck’s team is calling on Scott Moe and the Sask. Party to support a bill her team put forward that will come to a formal vote later today.

Bill 606, The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure Right-to-Know) Amendment Act, is scheduled to be voted on in the legislature. If passed, it would require an emergency room closure anywhere in Saskatchewan to be reported publicly through a website or other electronic means within one hour of a shutdown.

Currently, the Sask. Party-run provincial health authority claims to be posting closures once per day; however, ongoing analysis by Beck’s team has revealed that many emergency rooms open and close during the gap between reporting periods.

“The bottom line is this — knowing which emergency rooms are open and which are closed can be the difference between life and death,” said Jared Clarke, Shadow Minister for Rural & Remote Health, who put forward the legislation. “People shouldn’t have to guess on whether to head north, south, east or west on the highway during a medical emergency.”

Beck’s team logged hundreds of emergency rooms closures last year before Clarke introduced his bill. To get ahead of it, the Sask. Party moved to a once-every-24-hour-reporting-period.

But Associate Shadow Health Minister Keith Jorgenson has since been provided evidence of a real-time closure map kept centrally by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Recently, Jorgenson sent 500 packages to municipal leaders across the province — each contained a copy of the SHA memo proving the real-time map exists and a petition urging its immediate public release.

“The only reason I can fathom as to why Scott Moe and his Health Minister would continue to hide such critical information about emergency room closures from the people of Saskatchewan is that they don’t want us to see just how badly they’re failing to deliver healthcare in rural Saskatchewan,” Jorgenson said.

“The bottom line is healthcare in this province is crumbling all around us — it’s never been in worse shape — and the least the Sask. Party government can do is be transparent.”

Carla Beck's team continues to consult on major changes needed to deliver big, bold change in healthcare. People can share input and ideas at YourCareYourSay.ca.

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