Saskatchewan hospitals report 951 service disruptions since 2019, data shows

Hospitals across Saskatchewan have collectively experienced a new disruption to service every day and a half for the past four years.

Data from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), obtained by the provincial NDP through a freedom of information request, shows that between August of 2019 and July of 2023, 53 hospitals across the province experienced 951 distinct closures to hospital labs, surgical theatres and other departments.

This equates to a total of 6,772 days of lost service for patients.

During the four year stretch, emergency rooms were hit the hardest – recording 407 distinct closures amounting to 3,029 lost days.

Basic radiology and laboratory services were not far behind with 278 closures totaling 1,900 lost days, the data showed.

The disruptions worsened dramatically in 2022, rising from 163 in 2021 to 399.

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Lanigan’s hospital recorded the longest service disruption totalling 731 days while Meadow Lake recorded the most disruptions at 169.

The data showed that hospitals in Regina and Saskatoon were not affected by disruptions but did experience delays.

Tammy Grover was one such resident affected by the delays. She recently spent three days at a Regina emergency room while her daughter waited for a bed.

“There’s people in hallways, they’re on stretchers, there’s no rooms available,” Grover told CTV News. “I feel like they’re just overworked, doctors, nurses, everyone in there.”

The Saskatchewan NDP released its findings on Monday – detailing the party’s nearly year long effort to try and obtain the information.

“We’ve been trying to access this information since February, and it’s December. This is a government that’s allergic to transparency,” NDP Ethics and Democracy Critic Meara Conway said in the news release.

“Premier Moe needs to be straight with the people of Saskatchewan. Knowing whether your local emergency room is open or closed could be the difference between life and death.”

The Saskatchewan Party government believes it’s made progress on health care since assuming power in 2007 – claiming that 1,000 doctors and over 5,000 nurses have been recruited during its 16 years in power.

The data marks the latest attempt by Saskatchewan’s opposition to highlight health care disruptions and shortages across the province.

The provincial NDP have released multiple sets of SHA data – detailing periods where several of Saskatchewan’s largest ICUs were “on bypass” at the same time due to lack of capacity.