The NDP’s report covers a broad range of solutions, including making primary care the foundation of the health-care system and putting patients and communities back at the centre of decision-making.
“All the time, health-care workers and patients complain the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the government have become disconnected from local health care, the needs of local health care, and ignore the skills and resources local communities have to deliver health care.”
Other solutions include retention and recruitment, as well as improving transparency, accountability and access to information, such as when a hospital is open and what services are available on a given day.
Jorgenson also acknowledged the province’s mental health and addictions crisis and said it can have an impact on someone waiting for an ambulance or needing a bed in the emergency room.
“The mental health and addictions crisis is affecting all aspects of the health-care system here in Prince Albert, and the government has really ignored that crisis and allowed it to spiral out of control.”
In the coming months, the NDP plans to work further on solutions to address the crisis in mental health and addictions. Jorgenson said he expects more specific policy suggestions to be released in the fall.
Response from the government
In a statement emailed to paNOW by Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill, the document released by the NDP can hardly be called a health-care plan.
“It does not actually include anything resembling a plan. It is incredibly vague, relying on statements like ‘make every dollar count,’ with no clear actions, original innovation or timelines,” he said.
By contrast, Cockrill said the Patients First Health Care Plan is a comprehensive, provincewide strategy with specific actions and goals to improve access to care.
Some of the government’s key actions include:
removing more than 240 clinical policies to allow nurses to practise to their full scope
increasing the number of undergraduate medical seats by 20
increasing the number of physician residency seats by 10
expanding access to virtual care
adding six more urgent care centres throughout the province, for a total of seven
continuing to recruit, train and increase the number of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health-care professionals
working toward a target of 90 per cent of patients receiving diagnostic scans within 60 days by the end of 2028
“We’re working closely with health-care professionals, municipalities and people across Saskatchewan — and acting on what we hear, delivering on the actions we have identified and making real progress for Saskatchewan patients,” Cockrill said.
“Promising “big, bold changes,” then delivering a plan this light on details, is exactly why nobody takes the NDP seriously.”
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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com
On X: @nigelmaxwell