Minister Hindley guarantees reopening of Kamsack Hospital following tour, rally

Kamsack, Sask. -

An emotionally-charged day in front of the Kamsack Hospital included boos from a crowd of around 200, as Minister Everett Hindley toured the facility, and spoke to the rally’s participants.

The rally was expected to be held at 8:30 a.m., but crowds ballooned from the dozens, all the way to the eventual roughly 200 who got their chance to show Hindley how they really felt.

Video from CTV News shows the crowds displeasure after Hindley, a staff aid, and local Canora-Pelly MLA Terry Dennis addressed the onlookers.

Dennis and Hindley addressed the rally first just after 10 a.m., for about 10 minutes prior to a tour of the Kamsack Hospital, which just saw its facility lose its remaining five acute care beds, along with shrinking emergency hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can,” Hindley told the concerned citizens.

“Sometimes, we’ve got to think outside the box, because rural health care isn’t the same it was 20 years ago,” said Dennis.

Following the 10 minutes, Hindley’s aid can be seen working to move Dennis and Hindley into the facility, with a smirk on his face.

Those who weren’t smirking, the entirety of the crowd of 200, then booed the Minister and the local MLA.

The three were expected at the hospital around 9 a.m. Instead, around 9:30 a.m., NDP MLA Matt Love of Saskatoon-Westview addressed the crowd with an impromptu Q and A.

Among the concerns, some questioned why politicians are involved in health care at all. That concern was echoed throughout Thursday’s press conference and rally.

“There’s one government in Saskatchewan responsible for hospitals closing today, and that’s the SaskParty government. They’ve taken zero responsibility for their own mismanagement,” Love commented.

“The NDP closed hospitals that never were reopened. In the case of Kamsack, this is a temporary disruption,” Hindley responded.

Following the tour, Hindley addressed reporters and was asked twice if he’d guarantee the reopening of the Kamsack Hospital.

“We’re going to do that,” he promised in his second response. “We’ll reopen the hospital. We’re going to bring in staff. This is not a permanent closure of the Kamsack Hospital. This is a temporary situation because we don’t have the number of staff we need — the appropriate staff we need.”

When asked what he expected in visiting the hospital, with a group of protestors waiting for his arrival, Hindley didn’t beat around the bush.

“We expected there would be people, obviously, concerned about the situation in Kamsack here. This is their community and the hospital is a key part of their community,” he said.

Hindley was also asked about the complex geography and service area for Kamsack, as it involves three Indigenous communities, Kamsack itself, Duck Mountain Provincial Park, along with three cities in Manitoba and all areas in and around those communities. He said all areas in Saskatchewan have unique challenges.

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With Kamsack’s HIV issues and overdose issues — over 50 community members in the area have died due to overdose, according to the Walking Buffalo Detox Centre on the Cote First Nation — its led to many worries across First Nations leadership.

“We have records of people coming here (Kamsack Hospital), and being sent home and dying at home. We’re in a perpetual crisis in our three communities, and we have two, three funerals a week — one week, we had five funerals — and that’s every week,” said Ted Quewezance, part of the Saulteaux Pelly Agency Chiefs Health Alliance.

Thursday’s demonstrations, along with the subsequent talks with Hindley and company may have left more questions unanswered, than answered on the future of the facility.

Yet, one thing is for certain: Kamsack’s residents won’t be going out quietly.