REGINA – The issue of whether patients should pay for parking at Saskatchewan hospitals was back at the Legislature Monday, with a particular focus this time on the plight of cancer patients.
Appearing at the Legislature to advocate for the issue was Dennis Ogrodnick, a former Prince Albert city councillor who has terminal kidney cancer. He was there advocating for free parking for cancer patients at Saskatchewan hospitals, alongside NDP MLAs Jared Clarke and Meara Conway.
In speaking to reporters Ogrodnick voiced frustration that nothing seemed to be getting done.
He said it has been “125 days today that I sent my first of six emails to Jeremy Cockrell, asking him to speak.”
“And it's nice that finally, after 125 days, he's acknowledged me. Up until now, he's ignored every email that I sent him. That's a minister of the Crown. That's our health minister. That's disgusting. That's unreal that the minister would do that.”
Ogrodnick also said he was “really disappointed in his continued lies,” pointing to Cockrill’s claim that the money collected is split 50-50.
“That's crap. That's not true,” said Ogrodnick. He said that in Prince Albert the money collected goes to “a sign that says on those meters ‘Platinum Parking’ And then the money is distributed where, I don't know.”
He adds he had several different answers from Saskatchewan Health Authority on why that money is been collected in Prince Albert.
“First, they said they implemented the fees for us cancer patients because we were somehow abusing the system. I asked how. No response. Then, I got a call from Saskatchewan Health Authority that they were… using the money to maintain the parking lots. So I said, okay, in the five communities that we have these paid parking, Prince Albert, Yorkton, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, and Regina, they collect money. Who pays for the remaining 70 hospitals in Saskatchewan?”
Ogrodnick noted that from hospital to hospital it varied whether people paid for parking or not at all. Even the fees varied — he said parking costs $2.50 an hour in Regina and $2.25 in Prince Albert.
He said that there are “16 communities outside Saskatoon and Regina that offer the chemotherapy that I need, the services that I need and thousands of other patients need across the province.” Of those, cancer patients have to pay for parking at three of them, including his own community Prince Albert.
Ogrodnick acknowledged the province is looking to standardize but said if they want to do that, they should “use the Battlefords Hospital as the model for Saskatchewan.”
“So cancer patients don't pay. Patients don't pay. Visitors don't pay. And even some staff told me that they park in that parking lot free — they don't have to pay. So let's use that as the model for Saskatchewan.”
Ogrodnick noted the costs of parking and out of pocket expenses quickly adds up.
“The Canadian Cancer Society says that, on average, a cancer patient, out-of-pocket expenses anywhere from $300 to $900 a month,” he said.
“People don't realize that. I didn't choose to have this disease, but I have this disease. I'm dealing with it. I'm trying to be very strong. I'm fighting like hell to change that terminal diagnosis, but I'm also having to spend a lot of money. I'm out, personally, about $2,000 a month it costs me. I can't work, so I can't do my passion, which is teaching. I love teaching. I miss it so much. I would love to go back and sub. I can't do that, so I lose that income, and then I have out-of-pocket expenses that isn't covered, that is keeping me alive.”
In speaking to reporters, Health Minister Cockrill said Ogrodnick has been in touch with his office.
“I know the Saskatchewan Health Authority has responded to him and someone from my office reached out to him in August with a response,” he said. “Obviously, when anybody raises concerns with the health care system, we take a look at those concerns and understand what may or may not be able to be done about those.”
Cockrill noted that the reality was that it costs money to maintain parking lots.
“That's a reality to pave parking lots, to paint lines, to clear snow. Over half of the Saskatchewan Health Authority's parking revenue goes to the maintenance of parking infrastructure,” Cockrill said.
Cockrill also maintained that the other half “goes right back into patient care. We think about patient care and the investments specifically that have been made in the Prince Albert region. We have close to a billion-dollar hospital being built right now in Prince Albert, and one that is exempt from community share, which is normally 20 per cent because we have declared Prince Albert a tertiary centre. That's going to be significant because of the wide variety of services that are going to be available at Prince Albert Victoria Hospital.”
Cockrill calls this an example of where dollars can go back to serving patients better and closer to home.
“Think about the new Urgent Care Centre on the way in Prince Albert. Think about the contribution that this government has made to the Ronald McDonald House, $3.5 million in the city of Prince Albert. These are the sort of things that half of that parking revenue goes to, ensuring that all patients have access to better care.“
As for the discrepancy between hospitals in the province Cockrill said this was what he said earlier that Saskatchewan Health Authority is “trying to move to a consistent approach around parking in the province.”
“The reality is the Saskatchewan Health Authority is a combination of 12 former regional health authorities, so even within those 12 RHAs there were differing policies around parking, I understand. Again, this is something the Saskatchewan Health Authority will continue to look at and make sure that there's consistency around the province.”
