A total of 230 full-time registered nurses across Saskatchewan gone in a single year
SASKATOON - Today, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister of Health Vicki Mowat responded to shocking new workforce data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) that shows the Sask. Party is driving healthcare workers out of Saskatchewan’s health system.
“The Sask. Party’s plan is failing. This is why our emergency rooms and rural hospitals are facing chronic closures. This is why our friends and neighbours can’t find a family doctor or get a procedure on time,” said Mowat. “This government is driving healthcare workers out of the province.”
The latest data shows a shocking and sobering pattern since Scott Moe took office in 2018:
“The Sask. Party is going out saying they have the best recruitment strategy in Canada as our healthcare workers leave in record numbers. This government is delusional,” said Mowat. “Anyone who has tried to get care in a Saskatchewan hospital can see that the system is in crisis.”
The data from CIHI also shows that Saskatchewan lost a total of 230 full-time registered nurses across the province in just one year. The province only managed to hire a single full-time nurse practitioner in 2023.
Saskatchewan is still well below the Canadian average in terms of physician to patient ratios. According to CIHI, Saskatchewan has the second-worst physician to patient ratio at 221 physicians per 100,000 and has the worst specialist to patient ratio at 103 specialists per 100,000 people.
|
Jurisdiction |
Physician to 100,000, 2023 |
|
|
|
All physicians |
Specialists |
|
BC |
272 |
134 |
|
AB |
240 |
124 |
|
SK |
221 |
103 |
|
MB |
219 |
112 |
|
ON |
226 |
116 |
|
QB |
260 |
130 |
|
Canada |
243 |
123 |
“Everyone is tired of the excuse that this is a so-called national problem. The Sask. Party is dead last in Canada. It’s time they own their record,” said Mowat.
“We need to massively overhaul our recruitment strategy and build retention solutions with our healthcare workers who are currently shouldering the burden of this government’s failures. Our healthcare workers deserve better and our patients certainly deserve better.”
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