Question Period (9 May 2024)

From Hansard (9 May 2024)

To view this section on video, click here and start play at 10:44:35 AM.

 Provision of Health Care in Rural Communities

Ms. Beck: — Mr. Speaker, this government does not understand the struggles that Saskatchewan people are going through, and this is a matter of priorities. But not only are they failing to deliver when it comes to the cost of living, they’re failing, failing to deliver on health care.

Mr. Speaker, we’re joined today by a delegation in your gallery that are fed up with the Sask Party’s record on health care. Folks from the town of Duck Lake, the RM, and Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation are all here to talk about the shortage of doctors in their region.

People in that region don’t have access to doctors. So what does the Premier, what does that government have to say to these leaders who have joined us here today?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our government agrees that providing health care in our rural and northern communities is an absolute priority. And that’s why we have the most ambitious health human resources action plan in the nation, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are actively recruiting physicians to fill the vacancies, including in communities like Duck Lake. Mr. Speaker, this year’s budget includes eight more training seats for SIPPA [Saskatchewan international physician practice assessment] so that SIPPA doctors, we’re now training 53 total. And those doctors largely go to our rural and northern communities, Mr. Speaker.

To help train more physicians, we’ve also created the rural physician incentive program, Mr. Speaker, that offers up to $200,000 as an incentive to our physicians who are willing to work in our rural facilities that are otherwise hard to staff. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ms. Beck: — News flash for the minister — they’re not here to say how well those plans are working, Mr. Speaker. Now Saskatchewan people should be able to get the care that they need when and where they need it, and the people that are here today from Duck Lake and the surrounding communities are tired of talk. They want action, Mr. Speaker.

The shortage of doctors in their region is leaving eight beds at their special care home closed. Now they’ve tried working with this government since 2021, but there’s no resolution in sight. The Premier and the Sask Party have broken our health care system, and they are clearly not the ones who are up to the task of fixing it. Why has the Premier let things get so bad in Duck Lake?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s a little bit rich for the opposition to be talking about breaking the health care system when they closed 52 hospitals across rural Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, and if given the opportunity, they’ve openly admitted that they would close 50 more, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is a priority for our government, it is a priority for our government to stabilize our rural and remote health care facilities. And that’s why under this government, Mr. Speaker, we have 1,000 more physicians operating and working in Saskatchewan than we ever did under the NDP, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Ms. Beck: — Mr. Speaker, those tired old talking lines are thin, thin relief for people who are here worried about their community and the lack of doctors. Now this shortage of doctors is bad for the RM, it’s bad for the town, and it’s bad for the nearby First Nation communities of One Arrow and Beardy’s.

Carla Seeseequasis leads Willow Cree Health Services, and they lost their family doctor last year. They have 1,600 members living on-reserve, and 1,000 of those members are left without a family doctor. Now this forces people to drive to the clinic in Rosthern or to show up to the ER [emergency room] when they need care, an ER that the member for Rosthern-Shellbrook should know is often, often closed to short-staffing.

Does the Premier agree with me that every person living in Saskatchewan should have access to a doctor no matter where they live?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and again, stabilizing our rural and remote facilities is a priority for this government. And that’s why we have the most ambitious health human resources action plan in the nation, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, a new physician was just recently recruited to Rosthern, and the most recent graduate cohort of the SIPPA program, Mr. Speaker, is a direct result of that recruitment. That’s how that recruitment happens, Mr. Speaker. And as I said, we’ve expanded the SIPPA program, Mr. Speaker, so that we have more SIPPA docs available across the province each and every cohort. And those doctors, again, are largely reaching our rural and northern communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Love: — Mr. Speaker, the people who came here today deserve so much better than they’re getting from this tired and out-of-touch government. Ray Gauthier is the Chair of Goodwill Manor in Duck Lake. We wrote to the Health minister in January sharing this community’s concerns and we still have not heard back. Neither has Ray.

Why do people need to come down to Regina in order to get a response from this Sask Party government? Will that minister meet with this delegation today?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I would just welcome the delegation here today. And of course I would be happy to meet with them after question period today if they so wish.

Mr. Love: — I’m glad that the minister will meet with them, but people should not have to get up at 5:30 in the morning to drive to their Assembly just to hear back from that minister.

Mr. Speaker, the shortage of doctors in the region has left eight of the beds in this facility empty. There are more beds empty today in Duck Lake than in all of the northeast region combined. The Sask Party has broken our health care system, and they are not up to the task of fixing it. Why has there been zero progress on fixing their issues after more than two years?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the plan that I was referring to earlier was just implemented in September of 2022. And in that time, Mr. Speaker, we have seen incredible growth in our health human resources. We are regularly meeting with our doctors. We are regularly meeting with community leaders. Again, I would be happy to meet with the delegation that’s here today.

Mr. Speaker, our health human resources action plan is working, and we have . . . We know that there are challenges. We are continuing to work on those challenges to stabilize rural and northern communities, and we will continue to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This tired and out-oftouch government is taking seniors for granted, and they’re taking rural people for granted too. Short-staffing, short-staffing and unfilled vacancies have become the norm in communities large and small, and it’s the fault of this Sask Party government. They’ve been in charge of health care for 17 years, and it’s their record of failure that is to blame for the state of our health care system today.

Why won’t the minister actually listen to local voices, like the ones who drove here today, and fix the problems in health care?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Mr. Speaker, the only ones not listening in this Assembly are the members opposite. I just said I would meet with the delegation, and I’m happy to do that, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the action plan, our health human resources action plan is showing results. We’ve said these numbers before, but I will say them again for the members opposite.

As a result of the initiatives in that action plan, we have 97 new positions in North Battleford, 70 of which are nurses; 69 new positions in Prince Albert, 44 of which are nurses; 47 new positions in Moose Jaw, 25 of which are nurses; 30 positions in Yorkton, 11 of which are nurses; 29 in Swift Current; 28 in Weyburn. Mr. Speaker, I can go on and on.

As I said before, we have recruited a SIPPA doctor to Rosthern who is available to the community of Duck Lake. We are continuing to work with these communities, Mr. Speaker. We recognize the challenges, but we have a health human resources action plan that is working and will continue to work, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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Overdose Deaths and Treatment for Addictions

This section begins at 11:07:00 AM in the video link provided above.

Mr. Burki: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. New numbers were released from the coroner this week. They show that 143 people have died from overdoses this year. Some of these people live in my constituency. These are the people that live in all of our constituencies. The Sask Party government cuts make this crisis worse, and we are on the track of another year of record overdose deaths.

When will the Sask Party government realize they are moving on the wrong track in the wrong direction and to invest in the supports that keep people alive?

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that the best way to prevent overdoses is to help individuals overcome their addictions to illicit drugs. And that’s why our government’s focus, Mr. Speaker, is on treatment and recovery.

Mr. Speaker, by making addictions treatments more accessible, we can save lives, we can heal families, and we can strengthen communities. And that is precisely what this government is doing, Mr. Speaker. We have announced a mental health and addictions action plan that is expanding the capacity of addictions treatment across this province. Five hundred spaces will be added across the province. We are at nearly 200 of those already, Mr. Speaker, and the plan is still in its infancy.

Mr. Speaker, we are making it easier for people to access those treatment spaces. And when they are receiving treatment, Mr. Speaker, we are transitioning to a recovery-oriented system of care that provides those individuals with the specific needs and the resources and the supports that they need to have a long-lasting recovery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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