Saskatoon City Hospital is once again reducing ER hours as Saskatoon’s emergency capacity remains in crisis
SASKATOON – As Saskatoon City Hospital’s emergency room sees further chaos due to the Sask. Party’s failed healthcare recruitment strategy, the Saskatchewan NDP called for immediate action to hire more doctors, reduce healthcare bureaucracy and add capacity to Saskatoon’s emergency rooms.
“The Sask. Party has been claiming for years their health recruitment strategy is working when we can see with our own eyes it’s failing,” said Keith Jorgenson, Saskatchewan NDP MLA for Churchill-Wildwood. “Emergency rooms are closing, doctors are leaving our communities. They’re hiring middle-managers and bureaucrats rather than hiring frontline healthcare workers.”
The Sask. Party announced this week that Saskatoon City Hospital would see further disruptions to its emergency department, closing the emergency room after 6 p.m. due to a lack of healthcare staff. Saskatoon City Hospital has continued to struggle, as the lack of emergency capacity has led to Saskatoon’s other emergency departments being forced to run at 200 per cent to 350 per cent capacity. While the Sask. Party claims that the problem is nationwide and that their plan is working, Saskatoon has some of the worst wait times in the country.
Emergency room staff have been sounding the alarm on patient safety, as Saskatchewan’s healthcare system sees a domino effect with more and more rural facilities forced to close as the system reaches a life or death situation. In November, a Lloydminster patient died in an ambulance after it was rerouted from the closer hospital to one three times farther due to Sask. Party service disruptions.
“We're already seeing patients affected by these service closures, people have even died,” Jorgenson said. “You can’t schedule an emergency, that’s ridiculous. Access can mean life or death. These emergency rooms should be open 24/7.”
The Saskatchewan NDP have long been calling for Saskatoon’s City Hospital to open its emergency room 24/7 to alleviate capacity pressures from Saskatoon’s other emergency rooms. Rather than continue to hire more bureaucrats into desk jobs at the SHA, the Saskatchewan NDP called for hiring more frontline positions, converting part-time and casual positions into full-time positions to attract more healthcare workers to Saskatchewan, something that could be done with the money currently being spent on overtime.
“It's clear things need to change,” Jorgenson said. “We’re focused on the future of healthcare here in Saskatchewan. You shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not your local ER is open when you’re dealing with an emergency. Saskatchewan is the birthplace of Canadian healthcare.
“It’s time we had a system that reflects that.”
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