NORTH BATTLEFORD — The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the province to move ahead with a bill that would provide residents with real-time information about local hospital and emergency room closures.
"We've been travelling across Saskatchewan, talking to folks about Bill 606, which is a law that would require the provincial government to notify people when their hospital or ER is closed," said Keith Jorgenson, associate Health critic for the NDP and MLA for Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood, at a news conference Monday outside the office of Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill in North Battleford. "We've come to North Battleford partly because this is the Minister of Health's riding."
"We're calling on him [Cockrill] to allow the passage of this law," Jorgenson said. "This really should be the single least controversial piece of legislation that's ever been passed in Saskatchewan legislature. The law simply requires the government to let people know when their hospital is open or closed."
He questioned why, he said, Cockrill will not allow the legislation to move ahead.
"It's a simple thing that allows people to stay safe, and make informed choices about where they seek care," Jorgenson said. "What we're asking the government to do is to release a website that will let people know when their hospital is open and closed, what services the hospital provides on a given day, and whether or not there's an actual doctor or virtual doctor. And then people can make an informed choice about what direction they drive in to seek care."
He said the law would cost zero dollars and would save people's lives.
"It really does confuse me as to why Minister Cockrill is blocking the passage of this bill," Jorgenson said.
He noted that a couple of days earlier the hospital in Turtleford had its emergency room closed.
"It was closed, I think for like half a day," Jorgenson said. "But still, if you're in an emergency and you drive to a hospital that's closed, that's obviously not ideal. It would have been better to drive in a different direction."
He said the Saskatchewan Health Authority does have a notification system where it notifies people at exactly 4 p.m. about a closure, but it often misses notifications that occur right at 4 p.m.
Bill 606 would require the Saskatchewan Health Authority to publicly report health-care closures within one hour through an online platform or other electronic means.
Jorgenson said people also need to know when a hospital is using a virtual care physician instead.
"There's a real place for virtual care, but we should still be telling people when a hospital's on virtual care," Jorgenson said. "I would use the example of if your kid breaks their arm, and if there's no doctor and there's no lab services, and you drive to a hospital that has a nurse but can't do x-rays and can't set your kid's arm. Well, then you drove in the wrong direction. Why wouldn't the province tell us? And you would be like, OK, I'm not going to drive to this hospital, I'm going to drive to that hospital because they have a doctor and an x-ray machine that's operating."
In response, Cockrill said he is not blocking the bill.
He said the government caucus supported Bill 606 at second reading because it reflects much of the work already underway through the Saskatchewan Health Authority. The SHA website is updated daily with any temporary disruptions, and more up-to-date information is available to patients by calling HealthLine 811.
"Private members’ bills like Bill 606 are debated every Thursday and we look forward to continued debate on how to improve outcomes for patients," Cockrill said in a statement.
"The Saskatchewan Health Authority has experienced recent service disruptions in Turtleford as we wait for new physicians to arrive in the community," he said. "Full credit to the health-care teams in that area for stepping up and continuing to ensure patients receive the best possible care."
"It is difficult to take the NDP seriously when Mr. Jorgenson and his colleagues have voted against increased physician training opportunities, expanded roles for nurse practitioners, virtual care, and incentives to help fill positions in rural communities," added Cockrill. "Our government’s commitment is to come up with solutions that put patients first in every decision we make — that is what we will stay focused on."
