“Childbirth is already one of the most vulnerable moments in a woman’s life. Now we’re seeing instances of care that would be unacceptable in any developed country,” said Keith Jorgenson, Saskatchewan NDP Deputy Shadow Health Minister. “Make no mistake this is not the first time a mother and her baby have been placed in danger by the chaos of hospital closures and persistent staffing shortages.”
Four days before her due date in July, Tyra Cornelson, who lives 30 minutes south of Swift Current, pre-registered to give birth at the Cypress Regional Hospital in Swift Current.
When she arrived at the hospital in labour, she was told that there was a service closure at the hospital and that she’d have to go to either Regina or Saskatoon to have her baby.
Despite knowing in advance Cornelson was coming to the hospital to give birth, the SHA did not notify her of the closures or prepare to re-route her to another facility. It took another 35 minutes for an ambulance to arrive from Gull Lake, and Peters was eventually sent to Moose Jaw, nearly two hours away.
“By the time they found me a bed, I was too far along resulting in the need of an ambulance which Swift Current also could not provide,” said Cornelson. “When we arrived at the Moose Jaw hospital I was fully dilated. The doctor had to break my water, and my birth was now in an emergency situation.
“My baby was in distress. They had to give me oxygen as the baby’s oxygen levels were dangerously low. They had to give me an episiotomy to help my baby to be born faster because she was in distress. “
“This is an extremely painful procedure to recover from. She was born less than an hour after arriving at the hospital.”
Bringing forward real change to end the crisis in emergency room care is a key component of the Saskatchewan NDP’s ongoing public consultation on the future of healthcare.
“Saskatchewan used to lead the nation in healthcare and now we’re ranked last place in Canada,” Jorgenson said. “The Saskatchewan Health Authority is run by Sask. Party hacks and insiders. They’ve taken
control and resources away from the frontlines and local communities.
“What’s happened to Tyra is unacceptable and will happen again unless we deliver big, bold change to get our health system out of last place.”
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