The Saskatchewan government announced a new Patients First health care plan Monday, outlining targets to improve access to surgeries, diagnostics and primary care across the province.
Premier Scott Moe and Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill made the announcement at the Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre, describing the plan as a major effort to strengthen the province’s health system.
Moe said the plan focuses on improving access to care and building on recent investments in the health sector.
“We will protect Saskatchewan patients by continuing to invest in our health care system and improve access across the province to primary care providers, timely surgeries and diagnostics,” Moe said.
According to the province, the plan includes a target of completing 450,000 surgeries over four years and reducing wait times for diagnostic procedures so that most patients can receive testing within 60 days.
Cockrill said the plan is designed to place patient care at the center of decisions in the health system.
“Patients must come at the center of every single decision that we make,” Cockrill said.
He added that the government plans to expand recruitment and training of health care workers, including increasing training capacity for nurse practitioners and other professionals.
The announcement also highlighted efforts to expand urgent care centres, increase the number of health care workers, and continue building surgical and diagnostic capacity across Saskatchewan.
The province has said the planned expansion of Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert would add about 57 beds once the project is completed, part of broader efforts to increase hospital capacity in Saskatchewan.
However, the announcement drew criticism from the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party, which released Saskatchewan Health Authority data it says shows ongoing pressure on hospitals in the province.
The leaked provincial report, dated March 5, indicates the emergency department at Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert was operating at about 121.9 percent occupancy at the time the data was recorded. The report also showed the hospital was short 13 available medical beds and had 25 patients in the emergency department.
Jordan McPhail, the NDP MLA for Cumberland and the party’s shadow minister for northern affairs, said the numbers reflect what health care workers have been experiencing in Prince Albert.
“What stands out to me is that after 18 years of a Saskatchewan Party government, we are still at overcapacity here in the city of Prince Albert,” McPhail said in an interview with the Daily Herald.
He said health care workers in Prince Albert continue to face difficult working conditions as the hospital deals with high patient volumes.
“When we talk to the health care workers here in Prince Albert, we hear about hallway medicine and patients lining up in hallways because the hospital is over capacity,” he said.
McPhail said the situation highlights the need to move forward with the planned expansion of Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert.
“Prince Albert can’t afford to wait. This expansion is already long overdue,” he said.
He added that Victoria Hospital serves as a major referral for communities across northern Saskatchewan, placing additional demand on the facility.
“We need more frontline health care workers and more services to support patients in Prince Albert,” McPhail said.
The government says staffing increases are already helping strengthen the health system. Premier Scott Moe said the province has added significant numbers of health professionals in recent years.
“We’ve hired over 1,000 physicians across the province and about 3,000 nurses in the last two years,” Moe said during the announcement.
However, NDP MLA for Cumberland Jordan McPhail said the pressures seen in the data reflect ongoing challenges for frontline staff in communities such as Prince Albert.
“Our team is listening to the health care workers and the patients who use these facilities and trying to find the best way to ensure their needs are being met here in Saskatchewan,” McPhail said.
The Saskatchewan government has said the Patients First plan will continue to focus on expanding access to care, recruiting health professionals, and strengthening health services across the province.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
