Over 500 concerned Spiritwood residents showed up to hear the fate of their hospital at a public meeting Wednesday.
The quality of health care offered in the town has been in a steady decline since 2006, when the acute care portion of the hospital was closed due to a shortage of doctors. Another blow came when the town's last two physicians walked away last December, leaving Spiritwood without a clinic.
At present, the long term care portion of the hospital, which has 36 beds, is occupied and the acute care portion is ready to go the moment a doctor is recruited. But Prince Albert Parkland Health Region has plans to restructure the services offered in the town. Part of this restructuring will include converting the acute care portion of the hospital into long term care, and changing the staffing accordingly.
"With the budget pressures this year, the health region has made the decision to no longer continue to staff at the same level it was," said Doug Dahl, spokesperson for PAPHR. "It obviously is a difficult change, and we're here tonight to explain what was behind the change and what the changes are."
Dahl explained the town would no longer be offering acute care, and would therefore have fewer registered nurses and more special care aides.
Many people are seeing this change as another nail in the coffin for the hospital, and another step away from having the acute care portion up and running again.
Donna Nelson, who resides in the area, said the lack of health care available in the area is a serious detractor to the viability of the town.
"It's going to kill this town," she said. "If the hospital doesn't open back up, the town will die."
Nelson also referred to additions to the hospital which were made in 2000; additions that are still reflected in their taxes.
"We're still paying for the stinking hospital, and we don't even get to use it," she said.
Nelson said she thinks both the health region and the government have turned their backs on Spiritwood, and rural regions in general. She said the lack of health care is appalling, and she is unable to get medication for her migraines without driving more than an hour. She said people's odds of surviving a heart attack or stroke are too low because of the length of time it would take to get to a doctor.
Another area resident, Nick Gyarmati, echoed the same concern. He has lived in the area for 66 years and recounted a time when the hospital saved his life. Gyarmati suffered a brain aneurysm and credits the quick diagnosis and action of the Spiritwood doctors in transferring him to Saskatoon for the reason he's still alive.
But now he worries about what might happen in the event of another accident, or even how he'll be able to keep accessing health care for routine ailments.
"At my age, in a year or two or three, I might not be able to drive," said Gyarmati.
Faced with these challenges, a group of concerned area residents formed the Northern Lakes Health Committee to address the situation. Tracy Schira-Parker, spokesperson for the committee, said accessibility is a huge issue for many of the area residents, the majority of whom are elderly, immigrant or First Nations, and don't have access to a vehicle. This leaves many without the ability to make it to Shellbrook or Prince Albert, where the nearest physicians are.
"Transportation is a significant issue, and we're aware of that," said Dahl. "We don't have a solution for that right now."
Schira-Parker said reducing services is a step in the wrong direction, and said the health region should focus on recruiting doctors. She criticized their recruiting efforts, pointing to the outdated job advertisement on the health region's website.
But Doug Dahl asserted the shortage of physicians is not unique to the Spiritwood area; it is an issue for all of Saskatchewan, particularly in rural settings.
"It's a very competitive market for physicians and that's definitely been one of the significant challenges here," said Dahl. He pointed out rural settings are often unappealing for doctors because they're expected to be on call more often. That presents a challenge because, according to Dahl, at least three or four physicians would need to be recruited.
"One or two doctors is not a sustainable call rotation, even three is very unlikely," said Dahl.
However, once that many doctors are recruited, the issue of having an adequate client base to support them arises. Also, many of the doctors recruited in Saskatchewan are international medical graduates who are more likely to feel cultural isolation, especially if they bring families with them.
"Spiritwood has had four physicians in the past," said Dahl, "but never for a very long period of time."
