REGINA - In light of a notice circulated to staff highlighting severe overcapacity pressures at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital this week, Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili called on Premier Scott Moe and his Health Minister to visit the Children’s Hospital to see the situation firsthand and to create a plan to ease the critical capacity pressures risking children’s care.
“It is unacceptable that a child needing care might not be able to get a bed in our brand new children’s hospital. The Premier called this a ‘little challenge’, when for kids and their parents it is a serious and scary situation,” said Meili. “No child who should be getting care in a hospital bed should be stuck in an emergency for days.”
According to an urgent pediatric capacity notice distributed yesterday (attached):
- All pediatric areas at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital continued to be overcapacity;
- Pediatric inpatients remain at 108%;
- PICU currently sits at 125% capacity;
- Staffing pressures remain high;
- Non-urgent direct admissions are being deferred.
“Saskatchewan families should be able to count on hospital beds for their kids should they need one,” said Meili. “The Premier is out of touch with the challenges of families and health workers - he needs to go to the frontlines and see the chaos for himself.”
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