REGINA — The opposition New Democrats continued their sustained messaging on Friday slamming the government over problems in Saskatchewan’s health-care system.
At a news conference at the Legislature, Opposition Rural and Remote Health Critic Jared Clarke stood alongside Robert Allison and his son Jayden Allison. The two family members raised concerns about the poor care received by Robert’s late wife Lisa during her three month battle with brain cancer.
He cited a number of issues that happened over a span of ten weeks, including a misdiagnosis of Lisa’s brain cancer as a sinus infection, having to wait seven hours in excruciating pain at the Urgent Care Centre, being left in a hospital hallway with loss of vision and loss of hearing due to radiation, possibly not having a hospital bed available, and being told that she may have to relocate to a different city in the province for care, among others.
Robert attributed all of those issues to health-care workers being overworked and understaffed. He said they were so overworked and understaffed that “I spent half of my time dealing with problems and should have never existed. Precious time I should have been spending my time with my wife, my beautiful wife, Lisa.”
He said he wanted to talk to Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill about what happened.
“I want him to change things. Make them better for the people in this province. People in Saskatchewan deserve the best. We can't fix problems if we don't acknowledge them.”
Clarke said his office wrote to Minister Cockrill on Aug. 6 to request a meeting, and followed up with another email last month.
“We are still waiting for a response. To me, this is unacceptable,” said Clarke. “The least that the minister can do is sit down with Rob, listen, and commit to fixing these gaps in health care. We can't have a bright future in this province if we don't have good health care."
“I promised my wife that her death would not be in vain, and that I would do everything in my power to make sure that no one else goes through what Lisa did,” Robert said.
In a statement the Government of Saskatchewan said it “takes situations like this very seriously” and pledged a meeting.
“The Minister of Health welcomes the opportunity to meet with this individual to hear their experience firsthand. While others may turn such experiences into political headlines, our focus remains on supporting families by standing with patients and honouring the dedication of our health-care teams who go above and beyond to help Saskatchewan people in their hardest hours.”
The NDP also raised concerns Friday about an incident in Saskatoon, in which a patient with a swelling brain had to “undergo complex procedures” in a hallway at Royal University Hospital.
In a news release the NDP said that back in August, the patient had twice received a plasma exchange to reduce the swelling. They also quoted a nurse as calling it a “new low.”
This latest criticism from the NDP follows recent criticism about other incidents of overcrowding at RUH and of patients been treated in hallways outside of the ER.
“This is absolutely unacceptable, especially in the birthplace of Medicare,” said Keith Jorgenson, associate critic for health. “When our loved ones visit the hospital, we should be able to assured knowing that they are getting the best possible care.”
In a statement, Saskatchewan Health Authority said they “acknowledge that capacity pressures create a difficult environment for patients who are seeking care in our emergency departments, and for staff and paramedics who continue to provide excellent care. We regret that these pressures have resulted in a difficult experience for this patient during an already challenging time, and we would welcome the opportunity to meet with this patient to better understand and learn from their experience.”
