Scott Moe gambled with Saskatchewan’s health system and lost
Today, Official Opposition Health Critic Vicki Mowat called on the provincial government to ensure all available options – like the military, the civil service, and support from other provinces – are utilized to support Saskatchewan’s health system on the brink of crisis.
“The fact that Saskatchewan’s health system is one car wreck away from not being able to provide adequate care should keep this premier up at night,” said Mowat. “Instead of pointing fingers and deflecting blame to Ottawa, the premier should be shoulder-tapping the skilled people who work in his own public service who can be redeployed to help with contact tracing and booking vaccination appointments.
This week the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) confirmed that adult patients are receiving care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital due to Intensive Care Unit bed shortages across the province. The SHA has also recently redistributed the Saskatchewan Critical Care Resource Allocation Framework to help guide ethical triage decisions around what patients should receive scarce health resources should those choices need to be made. Yesterday, Premier Jason Kenney announced he was working with the federal government for support in moving critically ill patients to other provinces for care.
“Scott Moe’s choice to ignore the signs of the fourth wave all summer have left the province short-handed. The men and women who serve in the Canadian Forces want to serve our country and work to make it better,” said Mowat. “I was a Captain in the Army Reserve before I entered politics, and I know that there are hundreds of regular force and reserve members across our province who would answer the call. Other provinces have also asked for help when their ICU capacity and long term care facilities were overwhelmed. It's time we admit that we need help before it's too late.”
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