NDP reveals under-staffing at Saskatchewan Cancer Agency

Carla Beck revealing a memo from the SGEU, outlining serious under-staffing, overworking and poor communication with managers at the Sask Cancer Agency. (Jason Delesoy/CTV News)

A memo from the Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU) has painted a picture of healthcare workers on the brink – with under-staffing and burnout directly impacting quality of patient care within the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA).

The briefing note was shared by the Saskatchewan NDP on Tuesday, at a campaign event outside of the Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina.

The SCA operates Allan Blair and the Saskatoon Cancer Centre in addition to lodges in both cities.

The document outlines key issues including under-staffing, increased workload, burnout and mental health strain, poor communication and support from management as well as space and resource constraints.

Hosting more than 900 employees, the SCA is a provincial healthcare organization tasked with providing comprehensive cancer care to the people of Saskatchewan.

Testimonials from frontline workers were also included in the report – with one registered nurse claiming that patients have died before receiving care.

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“Patients have died waiting for treatment due to the overwhelming demand and lack of available staff,” the account read. “Treatment delays and errors are common due to the high workload.”

“Patients have died before being seen because physicians couldn't physically take any more on in their day,” another RN testified. “Treatments have been delayed because we can't fit everyone into a clinic before their treatment is due.”

The briefing note was prepared for a meeting with outgoing Health Minister Everett Hindley on Sept. 10 and later provided to the NDP.

Beck put the blame for the current conditions at the SCA squarely on the shoulders of the Sask Party.

“It's a disaster that Scott Moe and the Sask Party have created. It's Scott Moe and the Sask Party who must answer to the families who lost their loved ones before they ever got the care that they needed,” she said in her remarks.

Nadine Baker made headlines in January when she highlighted her experience, waiting more than 40 weeks for a diagnostic scan after experiencing cancer symptoms.

“I could have died without even being diagnosed and I was worried sick. So, I spoke out and I ended up getting an MRI rather than a mammogram,” she explained.

“I know I was one of the lucky few to make headlines to get my health care. Now I'm stuck in another cycle of waiting again with no answers and no end in sight.”

In a response to CTV News, the Saskatchewan Party confirmed that Hindley met with the SGEU in September to discuss the concerns listed in the memo.

The party added that the work to address them is ongoing – highlighting extended service hours at oncology clinics, $1 million into ovarian cancer research as well as the creation of a Breast Health Centre in Regina.

The province also highlighted its Health and Human Resources plan– with $300 million being allocated to the four-point initiative since 2022.

“You have a government that waves their four-point plan around. It's the least effective plan in the country,” Beck told reporters.

“The number one thing has to be an effective retention strategy for the health care workers that we already have in our health care system.”

Beck reiterated the NDP’s promise to invest $1.1 billion into healthcare with a focus on recruiting, training, and retaining frontline healthcare workers.

“I would say this to anyone in the province, there is not a magic wand, but there is a sense of urgency and there are solutions that have been put forward for years by health care workers,” she explained.

“We understand the urgency. We have a willingness to work, to do the hard work of sitting down with health care workers and starting the important task of retaining those that we have.”

Beck added that one of the first actions of an NDP government would be to offer more full-time positions to those on the frontlines.

"Half of the postings right now in this province for health care are less than full time," she said.

"It's incredibly frustrating to know that the government won’t do the simple things like show up and talk to nurses, let alone work with them on a nursing shortage task force. Promises after promises. But worse and worse delivery of health care for people in this province. It’s dangerous. This is not safe."