SASKATOON WOMAN DIES FROM A BROKEN ANKLE, REPEATED DELAYS FOR SURGERY

Scott Moe Insists Healthcare Is Improving In Province, While Every Sign Says It’s Not
SASKATOON- Carla Beck’s team is demanding answers from the Sask. Party as a horrible story emerged of a 30-year-old woman dying from a broken ankle after her scheduled surgery was delayed due to lack of beds and staff.

Saskatoon’s Kirsten Hanke was removed from life support on Aug. 20 at Royal University Hospital after collapsing at home as she awaited her rescheduled ankle surgery. Her original surgery was scheduled for five days prior.

It was determined at the hospital while Kirsten was on life support that a blood clot in her ankle had moved into her lungs, ultimately causing her death. Had her surgery proceeded as scheduled, Kirsten would still be alive today.

“A broken ankle hasn’t been a death sentence in hundreds and hundreds of years — yet this is how bad the healthcare system in Saskatchewan has collapsed,” said Keith Jorgenson, Associate Shadow Minister for Health. “This story is beyond horrifying. Kirsten was robbed of another 50 years of life. Her partner Morgan lost his partner and for what? A broken ankle. This is horrific, it’s a nightmare and this family and all Saskatchewan people deserve answers.”

The Hanke family met with Keith Jorgenson, Associate Shadow Minister for Health, and their MLA for Saskatoon-Stonebridge Darcy Warrington and members of the media late last week to share their horrifying story.

“This never should have happened,” said Shawna Hanke, Kirsten’s mother, “The nurse at the hospital told us she shouldn’t be sent home, but there was nowhere for her to go. Now she’s gone. My daughter died of a broken ankle.”

In October of 2025, hundreds of healthcare workers penned a letter to the Minister of Health, Jeremy Cockrill, outlining the horrifying conditions that they were working under at Royal University Hospital. In that letter, they explained that it was only a matter of time before something horrible happened due to the lack of appropriate staffing and the lack of beds available. To date, none of the concerns outlined in this letter have been addressed.

“This is the province that created Medicare. We used to lead the nation on healthcare,” Warrington said, “Nothing can bring Kirsten back, but the Hanke family and Kirsten’s partner Morgan deserve an apology, an explanation, and concrete actions to ensure healthcare staffing levels are high enough that fatalities aren’t occurring for treatable injuries.

“It’s time for change.”

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