'Stuck in a cycle': Sask. community frustrated over government's handling of healthcare services
While driving by on Highway 10, Balcarres seems to be a typical rural Saskatchewan community. It has a bar, a rink, and as of late, closures to its hospital.
Prior to the pandemic, Balcarres’ lab was the second busiest rural lab in the Regina-Qu’Appelle Health region, trailing only Moosomin, Sask. It serves multiple communities, including four rural municipalities, four surrounding reserves in Peepeekisis, Oakanese, Starblanket and Little Black Bear, the Village of Abernethy, and the towns of Balcarres, Lemberg and Lipton.
Once the pandemic hit in March of 2020 though, the lab was closed and the acute care beds were cut.
It had reopened temporarily, nearly a year later on March 9, 2021 until a vehicle accident occurred in mid-November, impacting the lab itself and cutting all access to equipment.
X-Ray services resumed in late January, 2022, but full lab services haven’t resumed. The department is without a full staff, due to a retirement and the position not being filled.
All of this has left the community upset, according to Mayor Kirby Korchinski. At times, they’ve felt left out, as similar clinics with similar closures reopened before it did.
Those communities include Fort Qu’Appelle, Indian Head, Langenburg, Foam Lake and Grenfell.
“We've been back and forth with Saskatchewan health and the Minister's office, trying to determine when those services will be reinstated, and when the equipment that was insured will be placed on site here,” said Korchinski.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying, though. The communities’ run in with the health authority and the ministry has been a rollercoaster, according to Korchinski.
Rural and Remote Health Care Minister Everett Hindley promised local area MLA, Travis Keisig that lab services would be fully restored by Aug. 2 which did not happen.
In a statement provided to CTV News on Thursday, Hindley responded to the claims of the broken promise.
“We are committed to restoring lab services in Balcarres … Restoring lab services in Balcarres will take some time and will need to be done in a phased approach, as the replacement of equipment, potential retrofitting, and recruitment of the vacant Combined Lab and X-Ray Technician position permit,” the statement reads.
“I understand the frustration of the community, and that communication should have been better. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify the commitment that I have made to Balcarres and the surrounding community. My office has clarified this direction with the SHA so that there is no further confusion.”
Korchinski said he is still waiting for a response and a timeline.
The community itself also submitted an Access to Information Request on May 30 through the Freedom of Information Act, and was promised a response no later than July 2.
To date, it hasn’t been answered and no jobs have been posted for the second position in the lab.
Korchinski said on Hindley promised council on June 3 that all the damaged equipment would be placed back in the lab within two months.
To date, none of the equipment has been delivered for the hospital.
“We've been kind of stuck in a cycle of talking to SHA and then the minister's office and then being asked to cycle around again,” Korchinski said.
“All of rural Saskatchewan when the pandemic started, we understood there were going to be impacts on services and things are going to have to change… We're just looking for the promises made to be kept. We'd like our services returned to pre-pandemic levels, the return of the acute care (and) the return of the lab services. We'd like things back to back to normal.”
Due to the lab closure, residents in Balcarres and its surrounding communities are forced to travel down the valley to neighbouring Fort Qu’Appelle for full lab services.
Currently, a courier picks up samples from Balcarres once per day which are brought to Regina for processing – typically a 24 hour turnaround. A rush order, done in Fort Qu’Appelle, takes a minimum of six hours.
With many physicians needing samples within a 24-hour span, it’s caused headaches for many within the community — including Korchinski himself, who dealt with health problems just this past month.
He has a message for the province, and the health authority.
“Talk to each other, figure out what it is, what their plan has been, between the two of them and then get back to us on the commitments that they've made. I mean, we're a bit frustrated, obviously. We're concerned. But we're certainly not going anywhere,” Korchinski said.
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