‘We’re not taking care of them’: Family upset as only pediatric gastroenterologist leaves Sask.

Emotion filled Tracy Gartner’s voice as she talked about the severe sickness her young daughter dealt with and the one doctor who figured it out and put them on a treatment plan — the same doctor who is now shutting down her practice in Saskatchewan.

“It’s so sad to see that it’s come to this,” said Gartner.

Gartner’s nearly 12-year-old daughter sees Dr. Simone Nicol, the only pediatric gastroenterologist in the province.

Gartner said her daughter was diagnosed by Nicol in 2018 after a difficult road when they had no idea what was going on.

“She became very, very ill and it wasn’t until we saw Dr. (Nicol) in Saskatoon. She was our angel and she saved our daughter’s life,” said Gartner.

Every month, Gartner and her daughter head from Regina to Saskatoon for the girl’s treatment — a 2 1/2-hour drive each way, plus several hours in hospital for the IV.

But recently, Gartner found out Nicol is leaving; she’s winding down her practice and will be done in May. 980 CJME reached out to the doctor but didn’t hear back by the time of publication.

Gartner said the doctor hadn’t explained exactly why she’s leaving, but the mother said she could guess, given that Nicol’s the only such specialist in a province of more than one million people.

“When you’re trying to manage the caseload that she’s trying to manage, of hundreds of children in Saskatchewan, and knowing full well that this doctor has only had two weeks off in the last two years, just as a human being, can you imagine her mental health as well?” she said.

Now, if they have to see a specialist or if something comes back odd with the girl’s frequent blood work, Gartner was told they’ll have to go to Calgary to see a pediatric gastroenterologist there.

“It’s truly sad, as a parent, to know that if my child needs to see a doctor, we do have to go to Calgary. And that is not an easy trip for us; my husband and I both work, so there’s a lot of things that we would also have to consider,” she said.

It’s not only the extra travel, but Gartner said it’s been hard personally to hear they’re losing the doctor.

“She’s a fantastic doctor and it’s really upsetting because these little kids relied on her and do rely on her for treatments. (We’re) families that need guidance. She’s kind of the nucleus of our whole world when it comes to our daughter’s health,” Gartner said.

“I’m scared of what that looks like for my daughter, and for the other children out there. My daughter’s not the only sick one in this province.”

Gartner said she asked previously if it would be possible to offer her daughter’s treatments in Regina, but was told there isn’t enough staff. She has reached out to the Health Minister Paul Merriman’s office about it but was told the situation is between Nicol, as the employee, and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), as the employer.

The SHA offered a statement in response to questions about the situation. It said it’s actively recruiting for this and other positions and is engaging with candidates. It also said it’s working with other provinces to put a remote service option in place in the interim.

Gartner is frustrated Saskatchewan can’t keep professionals like Nicol.

“We’re not taking care of them. There’s not enough hands on deck, there’s not enough resources for them and they need a life too,” she said.

Gartner believes retention in health care needs to be a priority.

“We need to keep these amazing doctors here,” she said.