'Shouldn't have to fight this hard for care': Pediatric specialists needed in Sask., NDP says

Concern grows for Saskatchewan families who need care from pediatric specialists in the province.

Saskatchewan is one of three provinces in Canada without a pediatric gastroenterologist (GI), according to the Canadian Institute of Health Information.

Kaitlyn and Jordi Soron were at the legislative building on Wednesday to share their story, one that has left them forced to travel to Toronto to access care for their two-year-old daughter.

Their daughter needs a pediatric gastroenterologist (GI), a gut doctor for kids, as she has been in pain for most of her life.

She is currently on a strong dose of a medication to manage her gastrointestinal symptoms, but the family now has to travel to Toronto for specialized care.

“Our daughter has had gastrointestinal health issues since she was born,” Kaitlyn explained, noting that since Saskatchewan’s pediatric GI left, her referral couldn’t be accommodated anymore.

“We are responsible for the costs associated with this the travel meals and accommodations. It feels like a lot for our family to bear.”

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Kaitlyn said she wants her daughter to access care in Saskatchewan and not have it be a financial burden for their family.

“She was also referred for an MRI and because she's only two and a half, she was told that she needs general anesthesia and when I inquired about that, she was put on the semi urgent waitlist, which was six years … I obviously wasn't okay with that. So I proceeded to advocate further and now she's on the urgent wait list,” she said.

“As any parent knows, watching your child suffer is pretty much the worst pain you can experience.”

Saskatchewan’s pediatric GI left the province about a year ago, and several families have struggled with finding care since then.

“They are not the first family to be forced to leave the province to get the GI specialist for their young one,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said during question period on Wednesday.

NDP MLA and Remote Health Critic Jared Clarke echoed Beck’s statements, saying that pediatric care should be in Saskatchewan.

“People shouldn’t have to fight this hard for care, especially for a child,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to travel to provinces away for it either.”

Health Minister Everett Hindley said he realizes there are gaps to fill with the children’s hospital and the government is working to address those.

“There is additional funding [in] this year's budget on top of last year's funding to develop a comprehensive pediatric gastroenterology program at Jim Pattison Children's Hospital. There is a grouping that is underway for the vacancies that we have at the JPCH right now,” he said.

Saskatchewan is not only short on pediatric GI’s, however.

As Clarke said, according to SaskDocs and confirmed at committee on Tuesday, there are 15 vacant positions at the children’s hospital, including two GI’s.

When comparing a 2016 staffing target to a current SaskDocs list of vacancies, there is one vacant position for a pediatric cardiologist, two vacancies for emergency room specialists, one for an infection disease specialist, two for nephrologists, one for a neurologist, one for a rheumatologist, three for general pediatricians, one for a respirologist, and one for a neo-natal specialist.

“We do need to fill these positions,” Hindley said, noting that some are already in the process of being filled.

Kaitlyn said she’s going to keep advocating for her daughter until things get better.

“Any parent knows that you’ll do anything for your child. I don’t have it in me to stop,” she said. “I wouldn’t stop until she gets what she needs.”