REGINA — Tensions have flared again at the legislature this week over the health-care issue, this time with word of bypasses over the weekend in Saskatoon.
During question period on Monday, NDP health critic Meara Conway noted that all three of the hospitals in Saskatoon had been on bypass on Sunday.
“Yesterday at 6:10 a.m. the status of Saskatoon hospitals was changed from normal to bypass, Mr. Speaker,” said Conway. “So what happens when a hospital, let alone hospitals, go on bypass? Patients are often redirected. ICUs are unable to admit people. People are even turned away from the ER. Mr. Speaker, this is terrifying. It should never come to this in Saskatchewan’s largest city. So to the minister: can he explain? Does he know what happens when all of the hospitals in Saskatoon are on bypass?”
In response, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he was “going to take the opportunity to correct the record in my first answer because I assume I might get a couple questions on this today.”
“At no point over the weekend were all Saskatoon hospitals on bypass or closed to patients, Mr. Speaker. All emergency departments were open to patients, accepting patients. And we’re not aware of any patients that were turned away, Mr. Speaker.”
“Mr. Speaker, we have photographic evidence that shows that Saskatoon hospitals were categorized from normal to bypass yesterday at 6:10 a.m.,” Conway replied. “Can the minister explain himself, Mr. Speaker? ‘Nothing to see here’ is not an acceptable answer.”
Conway added that people were “turned away from the ER this weekend in Saskatoon. What is the minister doing right now so that every hospital in Saskatoon is not also categorized as bypass next weekend? Because a 0.3 per cent increase to the health budget ain’t gonna do it.”
Cockrill responded: “I think it’s incumbent on the 61 MLAs [members of the Legislative Assembly] that stand on the floor of this Assembly to provide as accurate statements as possible when it comes to the health care of this province, Mr. Speaker.”
“I will reiterate once again, Mr. Speaker — I knew I would have to repeat myself on this one — not at any point in the weekend were all Saskatoon hospitals on bypass or not accepting patients. That is absolutely important to note, Mr. Speaker.”
In speaking to reporters, Cockrill pointed to what he described as a pattern of misinformation from the NDP.
“It's pretty remarkable. This is at least the third time that I can think about where in the last year, where, frankly, the NDP have totally misrepresented information, like completely misrepresented information,” said Cockrill.
“It was about a year ago, I think, where we had, you know, the leader of the opposition indicating that pediatric patients were being sent to North Dakota for care. That was so far from the truth. It wasn't even close to being true. And, you know, luckily, there were some people that rebutted that.”
Cockrill also pointed to an incident a number of months ago on “the emergency room reports talking about, you know, misinterpreting a piece of data there that is the total length of stay for a patient and interpreting it as the wait time to see a physician. Again, totally wrong. Like, you just have to look at the column headings on those spreadsheets to understand.”
As for the bypasses in question from the weekend, Cockrill noted these “weren't even for emergency rooms. They were for ICU beds,” he said.
Cockrill also criticized an NDP media event held in Saskatoon that same day in which deputy leader Vicki Mowat stood outside St. Paul’s Hospital to highlight the bypass situation. The NDP news release about that media event claimed that ambulances were “forced to bypass overrun Saskatoon hospitals completely on Sunday.”
“Again, to sort of stand in front of a hospital in Saskatoon today and say that ERs were turning away patients this weekend in Saskatoon. Like, that's so far from the truth. That's not accurate.”
On Tuesday, the NDP stepped up its attacks on the government on the health-care issue. At a news conference at the legislature, they pointed to a leaked internal memo that they claimed showed that funding was denied for a number of areas.
Among the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s targeted initiative requests listed in the document as “not funded,” these included acute care bed capacity in Regina, mental health and addictions volume pressures and ER supports, and sexual assault nurse examiners, among others.
The document leak happened on Monday, said the NDP, which noted in its news release that it was on that same day that documents surfaced that intensive-care units in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford were being put on bypass.
At the Tuesday news conference, Conway accused the Saskatchewan Health Authority of attempting to “downplay the crisis in these hospitals in a hastily called Monday afternoon news conference.” She further accused the government of “flatlining” funding for health care.
“The urgent frontline needs are going unmet,” said Conway. “This is a Premier and a 20-year-old Sask. Party government that is completely ignoring the chaos and crisis on the frontlines, in our hospitals, in our clinics, in our communities and on our city streets.”
