Several Sask. communities continue to face medical disruptions: SUMA

One of the biggest concerns Saskatchewan’s smaller communities have been expressing are repeated disruptions of ER and EMS service due to staffing shortages.

While medical service is resuming in La Ronge, Assiniboia, and Biggar, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) cautions that some communities across the province are still experiencing problems.

“As SUMA did our regional meetings across the province in all corners of our province, we heard our hometowns have significant concerns about health care services,” said Randy Goulden, SUMA president.

The province plans to hire 1,000 health care professionals over the next five years. It recently put out a call for resumes and was flooded with applications.

Minister of Health Paul Merriman said they hope the new health care professionals will be on the ground before the end of the year.

“3,000 applicants is great, it’s good action. We’re very happy with that but we want to make sure that they’re qualified and that they’re meeting our standards. Then they have the bridging time once they get to Saskatchewan,” he said.

400 additional foreign trained health care professionals have been located in the province who are waiting to have their credentials recognized. Some arrived on recent flights from Ukraine.

“We also have had some good success, I think we’ve had thirty people from the Ukrainian refugee settlement and we’ve had three physicians that have also applied to be able to be part of this so this is a success all around,” Merriman said.

Full emergency services have resumed in Redvers, Assinboia and Biggar. Full EMS service is back in six communities including La Ronge. SUMA is pleased with progress but says more work needs to be done.

Goulden said they want to look at underlying conditions in terms of why those professionals are leaving the province.

The province has further measures planned including a recruitment mission to Philippines. The goal is to stabilize and increase staffing to put an end to temporary health care service disruptions.