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<\/p>\nHe argued that giving patients a regular place to seek treatment would help address health concerns before they require emergency care.<\/p>\n
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The proposal would connect residents with primary care teams responsible for coordinating their care based on where they live. Those teams would be linked to services such as home care, mental health and addictions treatment, diagnostics and specialists through health-care hubs.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the promise meant every resident would have a family doctor, Jorgenson described teams of professionals working together, with patients seeing the provider best suited to their needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there might be a time when it\u2019s most appropriate for someone to see a doctor and for a different situation, maybe it\u2019s more appropriate that they work with a nurse practitioner or a pharmacist or what have you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut by having those people co-located, working together as a team, you get the most out of each profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its release, the NDP pointed to the Prince Albert Co-operative Health Centre Community Clinic as an existing example of team-based care.<\/p>\n
The proposal also calls for expanded HealthLine 811 services, virtual care, community paramedicine and mobile nursing to improve access in rural, remote and northern communities. A connected health information system would allow patients and providers to access the records they need.<\/p>\n
With Victoria Hospital expanding, Jorgenson was asked how an NDP government would recruit the additional doctors, specialists and nurses needed when the Saskatchewan Party government has struggled to fill positions.<\/p>\n
He said the immediate priority would be keeping existing workers, arguing burnout, unresolved collective agreements and strained relations with the government are contributing to staff leaving.<\/p>\n
Reaching agreements with health-care unions and listening to employees would help stabilize the workforce, he said, while team-based care would make better use of each profession\u2019s skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd lastly, we need to recruit \u2026 and we need to train more doctors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked where the money would come from to support recruitment, retention and collective agreements, Jorgenson argued the province could redirect existing spending toward front-line care.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think that in government, spending money is about choices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He cited sending patients to Calgary for mammograms and spending on Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) administration as examples of expenditures he believes should be reconsidered.<\/p>\n
Jorgenson did not provide a cost estimate, recruitment targets or a firm implementation timeline, saying changes to staff relations could bring short-term improvements while other measures would take months or years.<\/p>\n
For smaller and northern communities, he also emphasized a commitment to maintaining care when a doctor or another provider retires or moves.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal, he said, responsibility for finding a replacement would rest with the government and SHA rather than individual patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not their job to find a new healthcare provider. It\u2019s the government\u2019s job to find them a new healthcare provider,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan\u2019s Minister of Health responded to the NDP\u2019s healthcare plan through a post on his social media. Jeremy Cockrill said, \u201cCarla Beck\u2019s new healthcare plan comes with no real actions and a price tag she\u2019ll maybe tell you later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAssigning patients to a team by postal code doesn\u2019t just magically create another doctor or nurse. You actually need people to deliver the care,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n