{"id":836106,"date":"2026-07-30T15:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T15:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/836106\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T15:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T15:07:11","slug":"leaked-health-care-report-shows-lloydminster-services-struggling-to-keep-up-sask-ndp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/836106\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaked health care report shows Lloydminster services ‘struggling to keep up’: Sask. NDP"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Saskatchewan NDP have released a leaked copy of a report commissioned by the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta that says health care in Lloydminster faces \u201ccritical challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report was withheld from the public by the provinces, but a four-page summary released last month said \u201coverall, service levels are being met.\u201d Saskatchewan NDP MLA and Shadow Minister for Health Meara Conway said the full report shows the province\u2019s public summary \u201comitted many of the report\u2019s most troubling conclusions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere could not be more daylight between this four-page summary and the 261-page needs report,\u201d said Conway.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The full report] documents a healthcare system struggling to keep up, and that patients are paying the price. Perhaps most troubling, many of these same issues were identified more than a decade ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In early July, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said the report contains confidential information that could damage future government negotiations.\u00a0Conway said she did not identify any confidential information in the report.<\/p>\n

CBC News has obtained and reviewed a copy of the leaked report. It states the \u201cLloydminster health system faces critical challenges related to capacity and infrastructure across several key areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ALloydminster Hospital in Lloydminster, Sask. (Lexi Freehill\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Findings include Lloydminster\u2019s hospital is \u201cno longer adequate for the population it serves,\u201d primary care services are \u201ccritically understaffed,\u201d and mental health and substance use supports in the community are \u201cnotably lacking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lloydminster\u2019s emergency department \u2014 the first point of access for many patients \u2014 was found to have wait times more than double those of similar Saskatchewan hospitals. Approximately one-in-six patients left without being seen in 2024\/25.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It pointed to the lack of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), despite the hospital\u2019s designation as a Regional Hospital, required by provincial policy to provide intensive care services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Growing pressures in long-term care and complications caused by the border, such as dual licensing requirements and ineffective communication between services were among other issues listed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tom McIntosh, a professor of politics and international studies at the University of Regina with a research focus on healthcare and intergovernmental relations, said he agrees with Conway\u2019s classification of the summary as misrepresentative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly underplays \u2014 to be generous \u2014 some of the very serious challenges that the report reveals,\u201d McIntosh told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said in his view, the report contains no confidential information. But, he said, the findings could lead to public scrutiny of both provinces and spark community demands to implement recommended solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernments haven\u2019t engaged in the very hard work that needs to be done,\u201d McIntosh said. \u201cThat\u2019s what has led us to the picture of Lloydminster today \u2014 in virtually every aspect of care, there are serious challenges and shortcomings.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AMeara Conway, Saskatchewan NDP MLA and Shadow Minister for Health, speaks at a press conference in Lloydminster, Sask. From left is Paul Richer, chair of Lloydminster & Direct Health Advisory Council, and Darrel Dunn, vice president of the Lloydminster Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society. (Lexi Freehill\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The government of Saskatchewan declined to answer specific questions about the leak, but said in a statement the report will act as a guide for both province\u2019s internal healthcare planning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the bi-provincial nature of health service delivery in Lloydminster, planning must consider the unique governance and decision making processes of both provinces.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kyle Warner, acting press secretary for Alberta\u2019s Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, said in a statement the ministry is working with Saskatchewan and local partners to review and implement the findings to strengthen services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes improving access to care, supporting primary care, enhancing patient flow, strengthening system coordination, and planning for future population growth and an aging population,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So many communities would see themselves in that report.- Tom McIntosh, politics and international studies professor at the University of Regina<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s top recommendations include creating an after-hours primary access clinic to reduce \u201curgent and increasing capacity pressures\u201d on the emergency department.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It calls for nurse practitioners and other primary care providers, including virtual options, to be available to the community.<\/p>\n

The report also states hiring mental health nurses, training physicians to deal with mental health emergencies and creating a dedicated mental health short-stay unit could alleviate wait times and increase emergency room safety.<\/p>\n

Cross-border communication could be improved, it says, by coordinated data-sharing policies, standardizing referral processes, and aligning provincial regulations to reduce administrative burdens, increase efficiency, and improve patient outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ron Gillies is a 37-year Lloydminster resident who relies on home care services for an ongoing health issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He hopes to see at least some of the recommendations from the recent report taken seriously, unlike the findings of a similar assessment published in 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2013 report identified many of the same issues and potential solutions as the 2025 report, including an after-hours primary care clinic, a mental health stabilization unit in the hospital, and a transitional care unit to improve patient flow to non-acute services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point, both governments have to sit down with the community and say, \u2018These are the priorities. They keep coming up. We need to act on them. How do we do it?\u2019\u201d Gillies told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers said he hopes to welcome health ministers from both provinces to Lloydminster for a meeting in the fall, ahead of provincial budget deliberations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aalbers encouraged residents of Lloydminster and the surrounding communities who rely on healthcare in the border city to continue pushing both provinces for the official release of the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McIntosh said publishing the detailed analysis done of Lloydminster\u2019s health care service gaps could have impacts \u2014 and benefits \u2014 beyond Alberta and Saskatchewan, and push governments to take action on changes to healthcare that researchers like himself have been suggesting for decades on a national level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many communities would see themselves in that report,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Saskatchewan NDP have released a leaked copy of a report commissioned by the governments of Saskatchewan and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-836106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}