'I’m scared to get old here': Residents fear for the future of healthcare in eastern Sask.

Canora, Sask. -

Dale Clarke has spent one year working casual hours at Canora Hospital.

What’s been happening in the past week, she said, is unlike anything she’s ever seen. She’s worked 50 hours per week, the last two weeks.

With acute care beds slashed in the neighbouring community of Kamsack, along with emergency hours shrunk to weekdays in Kamsack, Canora was the answer to carry the load.

Residents in the community described the situation as 20 to 30 people lined up outside the building at times since the change, and Clarke said the change has taken its toll on workers.

“Doctors and nurses are run off their feet,” she said.

“We have felt an impact of probably double of what we normally get in an evening. Not only numbers, but the types of services required.”

Clarke moved here with her husband from B.C., looking to retire in the community. Seeing what she has behind the desk, however, she said it feels like the time to leave.

“I'm scared for the quality of the healthcare in this province, and primarily, in this small town,” she said.

“From what I’m seeing, I’m scared to get old here. I’m scared there wont be the support there for us, if we need it.”

Things haven’t been pretty in Canora. Signs now hang in the lobby, warning patients not to verbally or physically abuse workers. Clarke said she has heard insults during her time behind the desk, but no one has become physical with her.

With the stress added on workers, it’s caused breakdowns at the Canora Hospital. CTV News confirmed at least one worker in the emergency room walked out in protest during their shift due to the additional patients.

Service disruptions have caused a pinch for healthcare across Canada, with Saskatchewan’s rural areas hit hard due to declining staff numbers.

Due to a shortage of staff, Canora has been on bypass since last Thursday, with patients being directed to Yorkton or other surrounding hospitals.

During Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley’s stop in Kamsack last week, he promised to reopen the hospital to full capacity — after being asked twice by reporters.

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He also explained how the Health Authority hopes to cover the gaps left in the region.

“EMS providers, we have a great EMS provider here in Kamsack, and I know they're also struggling for staff as well. We want to make sure that between that, between facilities like this, between ground ambulance, between STARS and air ambulance, that we have the best possible healthcare network we can have in this province,” said Hindley.

Duck Mountain Ambulance Care — the service Hindley is referring to, located in Kamsack — confirmed Thursday that it is struggling with workers.

“They’re leaving. We’ve got two employees here that have over 40 years working ambulance — they need to retire,” said owner James Pollock.

“It’s hard on them. We’ve got young staff coming in that have one or two years experience and they’re thinking, ‘Why am I here? I should have went into lab tech, I should have went into x-ray tech, or not even come into emergency medicine to begin with.’ And that’s wrong. Because our communities need those workers.”

“And if you’re an RN or you’re a paramedic, call me — I’m sure I can find you a job.”

Pollock added that workers are burnt out, with call volumes rising. Their length of call on task is also going up. Prior to the closures, they’d just have to move people to the local hospital. Now, that’s a trip to Yorkton.

Pollock said that’s an additional three hours on task, versus the short trip to Kamsack Hospital.

When it comes to Hindley’s comments on STARS Air Ambulance, they need time to travel too.

STARS told CTV News Thursday that it takes 50 to 55 minutes to get to the Canora-Kamsack area from Regina. If those fleets are tied up, a trip from Saskatoon is one hour and 15 minutes long.

CTV News reached out to get an updated answer on capacity issues in the area Wednesday, but did not receive a response by the time of publication on Thursday.

Wednesday, the province told CTV News it is committed to restoring the acute care beds in Kamsack, but did not acknowledge emergency services in the community.

With health care disruptions totalling 37 across the province, from Canora to Kamsack, the future of healthcare in the area still carries a lot of question marks.

The province told CTV News it would take Canora off of bypass as of Thursday morning at 8 a.m. The hospital was not taken off of bypass, confirmed by a phone call to the facility Thursday morning.

It’s created a less and less predictable system with the declining staffing numbers, with no end in sight for not just these two communities, but the entirety of eastern Saskatchewan and beyond.