The exodus — driven in part by burnout, stress, and two retirements — will leave many people without access to a family doctor and put greater demand on the family physicians who remain.
"Losing eight doctors in a year is devastating for a community like Moose Jaw, and this is a pattern we’re seeing across the province,” said Jared Clarke, NDP Shadow Minister for Rural and Remote Health.
“Good, quality healthcare is key to a bright future for our mid-sized cities like Moose Jaw.”
Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in the province and its health system serves approximately 50,000 people in the surrounding area. To meet demand, Moose Jaw needs roughly double the number of family doctors they have now.
“When a city the size of Moose Jaw can’t keep its doctors, what does that say about the state of healthcare in the rest of the province?” Clarke said. “Families deserve stability and timely access to care, but right now too many people in the province don’t have that.”
In addition to retirements and doctors leaving the health system, sources tell the Opposition that the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has been poaching family doctors into administrative and other roles within hospitals, leaving the remaining family doctors with unmanageable workloads.
“Instead of fixing the problem, the Sask. Party is driving doctors away and pushing existing doctors to the brink,” said Clarke.
According to the most recent workforce data from the
Canadian Institute of Health Information on doctors migrating from province to province, Saskatchewan suffered a net loss of 22 family doctors between December 2022 and December 2023.
"This is more than numbers — it’s a missed diagnosis, worsening health conditions and more people ending up in overcrowded ERs because they can’t see a doctor in time," said Clarke.
“The people of Saskatchewan deserve better — a government focused on building a future where people can access the healthcare they need, when and where they need it.”
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