REGINA - The issue of CT scan availability has become a hot issue this week on word that some patients in Lloydminster have had to go to the Battlefords to get those done.
News reports this week about patients having to go over 130 km away to the Battlefords Union Hospital last fall, to access CT scans that were not available in Lloydminster on weekends, were met with concern from the NDP when asked about it Tuesday at a media event in Saskatoon.
According to reports, there is no technician available on duty in Lloydminster hospital on weekends right now. According to news reports, one patient with appendicitis symptoms had to drive to the Battlefords with no CT scan available in Lloydminster. Meanwhile, the family of Roger Ogram posted a video about how he was "refused care" by Lloydminster Hospital to address his injuries in an auto accident in November, because there was no CT scan operator. He died soon afterwards.
鈥淚t's absolutely devastating to see the state of healthcare in Saskatchewan after 17 years of the Sask Party government,鈥� said NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat.
鈥淲e know that people are hurting when they need care. They try to access it and it's not available to them, and that's because healthcare workers are leaving the province in droves. They are burning out, they're leaving the profession, and we have the worst healthcare worker retention in Canada.鈥�
In terms of what the NDP wanted to see in terms of staffing, Mowat said she wanted to see the government 鈥減rioritize making sure that these centres that serve broader communities actually have the staff in place to provide the services that they're designed to provide."
鈥淎bsolutely, we know that staffing is a big concern. This government has not prioritized healthcare worker retention, and what we have seen as a result is that too many people are leaving those jobs. We need to make sure that the government is actually listening to healthcare workers, taking their advice, making sure that these are good jobs that people want to be part of, because otherwise the province is still going to continue to suffer while they wait for care.鈥�
When asked whether this was even cost-effective to send patients to the Battlefords, Mowat said there were 鈥渄efinitely questions about how this government is spending money broadly, but also within the healthcare system.鈥�
鈥淲e see examples of contract nurses being paid two to three times the amount of their peers. Absolutely, when we look at utilizing ambulance and paramedic resources in situations where we could have them directly go to hospital, it is a big concern.鈥�
At a media availability in Regina on Wednesday, Rural and Remote Health Minister Lori Carr acknowledged staffing was an issue.
鈥淚 mean, unfortunately, sometimes, whether it be staffing or even equipment breakdown, services can't be available. Our goal is to keep those services up and running to what people expect. And as soon as we can do that, we're going to do that.鈥�
Care added that as they 鈥渓ook at the areas and the staffing complement that we have, it really does come down to those human resources that are available. So our goal is to have the best services available in all locations.鈥�
