Partial costs of Sask. COVID-19 hospital treatments, airlifts add up to more than $100M
The Government of Saskatchewan has been billed for some of the costs associated with COVID-19 patient transfers to Ontario hospitals.
So far, ICU patient transfers to Ontario have cost the Government of Saskatchewan $787,532, not including the cost of their hospital stay or flight home.
This fall, 27 acutely ill residents were transferred to Ontario intensive care units to relieve pressure on Saskatchewan’s hospitals.
According to data from the government, 25 patients were airlifted to Ontario at a cost of $25,800 per patient. The total cost for flying the patients to Ontario is $645,000. Costs have not yet been determined for flying the patients back to Saskatchewan.
The cost of the ICU treatment for the patients is also yet to be determined. According to the Minister of Health, the province won’t be billed until all Saskatchewan patients have been repatriated. Four Saskatchewan residents are still being treated out-of-province.
Travel, meals and accommodations for 19 family members of ICU patients transferred to Ontario were quoted at $7,502 per person for a total of $142,532.
The opposition NDP thinks the cost could have been avoided had the government implemented COVID-19 restrictions sooner.
“The government saw the fourth wave coming, ignored the signs, ignored the advice of Dr. Shahab in August and there are the sad results," Vicki Mowat, an NDP MLA, said.
The province said every jurisdiction has had to face the financial impact of the pandemic.
“The fourth wave it has been difficult and challenging for Saskatchewan. We had to move a few patients out of province into Ontario. Earlier in the pandemic we took a number of patients from the province of Manitoba," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said.
SASK. COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS
The province has also reported more details about the cost of treating COVID-19 patients in local hospitals. To date, the province has spent $100,020,561 on local hospital and ICU admission for COVID-19 patients.
Inpatient hospital admissions reportedly cost the province a total of $39,953,172, which breaks down to 2,814 patients at $14,198 each.
Intensive care treatment in Saskatchewan has cost $60,067,389 to date, for 863 patients at $69,603 per patient.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.