Question Period (23 April 2024)

From Hansard (23 April 2024)

To view this section on video, click here and start play at 2:02:30 PM.

 Health Care Staffing and Provision of Care in Rural Communities

Mr. Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, this government is failing on education and they’re failing when it comes to delivering health care to Saskatchewan people that they can count on. This is especially true for rural Saskatchewan.

So they want to talk about their record? Let’s talk about their record. We know that between August of 2019 and July of 2023 that there were over 950 closures to rural emergency rooms, hospital labs, obstetrical care, and other life-saving services — 950 closures that impacted 53 different hospitals in rural Saskatchewan under this government’s watch. They seem uncomfortable to be talking about their own record, Mr. Speaker. I don’t understand.

Will the minister today tell us, tell this Assembly, how many communities have health care closures today?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the member for the question. I will correct the record. He’s talking about closures. What he’s actually referring to are temporary service disruptions. These are service disruptions that can last as little as two or three hours due to illness, due to vacation, or due to an unplanned absence of a health care worker, Mr. Speaker.

If he wants to talk about closures, if he wants to talk about closures, Mr. Speaker, he need only consult with his caucus because the NDP actually closed 52 hospitals. They actually closed 19 long-term care facilities. Those closures resulted in the permanent closure of facilities in our rural communities. Our facilities are continuing to operate. Yes, they have service disruptions. We are addressing those with our health human resources action plan, which is the most ambitious plan in the country, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A new rural health care report was just released a couple of weeks ago. And the report raises these unprecedented closures in rural Saskatchewan, leaving thousands of Saskatchewan people without health care when and where they need it.

It also raises concerns over the lack of publicly available information on health care closures. Now the minister would remember that this information used to be posted on the SHA [Saskatchewan Health Authority] website and was publicly available. But now under this tired and out-of-touch government, patients have to travel to the hospital to find out that their emergency room is closed. Thirty-five per cent of all health care closures were in rural emergency rooms, Mr. Speaker. Again how many communities are currently experiencing a health care closure today?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Again, Mr. Speaker, our government doesn’t close hospitals. We build hospitals. We may have temporary service disruptions. We are addressing those with the most ambitious health human resources action plan in the nation. That plan is yielding results. The plan was implemented in September of 2022. And since that time, since that time, 97 positions have been added to North Battleford, 69 positions to Prince Albert, 47 positions to Moose Jaw, 30 positions to Yorkton, 29 positions to Swift Current, 28 positions to Weyburn, Mr. Speaker. I can go on and on and on for the member opposite.

We have rural successes too in Wolseley, Broadview, Kipling, Indian Head, Fort Qu’Appelle, Melville. If the member would like the details, Mr. Speaker, I’m happy to talk more about it.

Mr. Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, the report doesn’t just touch on the hundreds of health care closures under this tired and out-of-touch government. It also points to this government’s failed health human resource plan. Fewer health care staff in rural Saskatchewan, fact. Decreasing retention rates, fact. Chronic vacancy rates, fact. Decreased access to physicians and specialists, fact. I could go on and on, Mr. Speaker.

Across the board, it is clear that this tired and out-of-touch government is taking rural Saskatchewan for granted. Why won’t the minister take one of our ideas for a change, like a grow-your-own plan to hire Saskatchewan people?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Mr. Speaker, let’s talk about their ideas for rural health. When he was the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Regina Rosemont demanded that the government implement the expert recommendations of the Fyke report on health care, Mr. Speaker. This is what the NDP idea for rural health care is.

The Fyke report called on the government to close another 50 hospitals on top of the 52 that they had already closed. That’s what the NDP mean when they say, take one of our ideas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Clarke: — Mr. Speaker, he still doesn’t want to talk about his own government’s record because it’s so bad. Community after community have raised concerns over their struggles to recruit and retain staff. Take this headline from the mayor of Macoun, where they can’t keep doctors, and I quote: “Dying for doctors.”

Or this one from Raymond Gauthier from the RM [rural municipality] of Duck Lake, that currently has eight long-term beds closed due to doctor shortages. Again, quote: “Duck Lake has more empty beds than the whole Northeast combined.”

This morning on Evan Bray, we heard from leaders from Wilkie and Biggar. Here’s one: “Wilkie’s ER has been closed since March of 2020.” That sounds really temporary, Mr. Speaker.

What does the minister have to say to the countless communities with Sask Party MLAs [Member of the Legislative Assembly] that are without the health care people deserve?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the member opposite wants to talk about quotes, let me put another one on the record. Here’s a quote, Mr. Speaker:

Now in the budget I do see some focus being put on hardto-recruit training seats, and this is a good thing. Absolutely yes, we should be training Saskatchewan people for these jobs. And I think specifically of rural people or Indigenous people who are going to stay in their communities once they . . . [are] trained, and where they live [there]. This is a good strategy.

Who said that, Mr. Speaker? It was the member opposite, the member from Regina Walsh Acres. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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The next section begins at 2:16:35 in the video link provided above.

Overdose Deaths and Treatment for Addictions

Ms. Nippi-Albright: — Mr. Speaker, 113 lives were lost to overdose in the first three months of this year. That’s more than one person lost to this crisis every single day. We’ve raised this issue in the Assembly every day this spring sitting, and every day that minister gives us the same lines about their new policy, the same policy that has resulted in a drastic increase in overdose deaths in neighbouring Alberta.

Mr. Speaker, treatment is important. However you can’t check into a treatment centre if you’ve died of overdose. This crisis is disproportionately impacting Indigenous people. When will this minister provide the evidence-based supports that will keep people alive like the supports Poundmaker’s Lodge has been offering for decades?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just point out that Poundmaker’s Lodge is one of the locations where we have recently acquired spaces to provide addictions treatment to the people of Saskatchewan.

Mr. Speaker, no illicit drugs are safe, and the members opposite want to draw this comparison to other provinces. Well let’s do that. There’s a stark contrast to what the NDP governments in Manitoba and British Columbia are doing compared to Saskatchewan. In Manitoba the NDP just released their budget, and in that budget, they invested $2.5 million to create a drug consumption site but only $1.5 million to address treatment. That shows you the priorities of the NDP, Mr. Speaker.

In Saskatchewan our priority is on treatment and recovery, Mr. Speaker. Our approach is going to save lives, it’s going to heal families, and it’s going to strengthen communities. Thank you.

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