The funds come from the SHA’s recent administrative restructuring announcement, where it cut 26 leadership positions back in June.
The positions include a range of roles like registered nurses, combined lab and X-ray technicians, medical radiation technologists and phlebotomists. Many of the new positions are eligible to apply for the Saskatchewan rural and remote recruitment incentive. It provides up to $50,000 over three years with a return in service agreement.
“Adding Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Medical Radiation Technologists, and other positions that deliver hands-on patient care reflect the shared commitment of the Government of Saskatchewan and SHA to ensure Saskatchewan residents have seamless access to care, as close to home as possible,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “The SHA has closely scrutinized their costs and identified savings that will help fund these essential positions and provide positive care to patients in communities stretching across the province.”
Since the launch of the Health Human Resources Action Plan in 2022, the province has added over 400 jobs in the healthcare field within the province.
NDP responds
Keith Jorgensen, associate health critic for the NDP, said the government should focus on filling existing positions, rather than creating new ones.
“According to publicly available data, this morning, we had 1,647 vacant health care positions in Saskatchewan. And so my question would be, if they’ve been unable to fill those 1,647 vacant positions, what leaves them to believe… that they’re going to have success in filling these new 77 positions,” he said.
Jorgensen said part of the issue is that the government isn’t listening to the concerns of healthcare workers, or even engaging with them.
“We need to focus on why people are leaving, why people are dissatisfied with their jobs and if the government doesn’t go out and talk to these people, they’re never going to solve those problems,” he said.
–With files from CKOM
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