NDP slams Sask. government over health care recruitment

The Sask. NDP says the provincial government’s health care recruitment and retention plan isn’t working.

Citing figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), health critic Vicki Mowat lambasted the provincial government for losing 526 rural and remote registered nurses between 2018 and 2023.

“It’s devastating to see that, especially when we look at all the closures across rural Saskatchewan. People are tired of being left behind by this government,” Mowat said at a media conference on Wednesday.

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Mowat said the province needs to listen to the expertise of health-care workers in addressing the issue.

“They need to bring health-care workers to the table and involve them in recruiting and retention strategies, rather than making top-down decisions on behalf of the people of this province,” she said.

“(The province’s plan) is clearly not working. Their health care recruitment strategy didn’t include health-care workers, and this is the result.”

Mowat raised concerns about the delay in forming the much-anticipated nursing task force, which the Sask. Party expressed willingness to establish in 2024.

Mowat said workers need strong incentives, such as adequate pay, a high quality of life and enough staff presence to allow for time off and prevent workers from being on-call all the time.

“This is what we hear from rural physicians as a big deterrent for them sticking around in rural areas. It also has to do with making sure people have access to housing,” Mowat said.

“There’s a lot of communities that people try to move into, and they simply can’t support the individuals that are trying to provide health care.”

Mowat said the complexity of these issues is why the solutions can’t be enforced top-down.

The NDP also mentioned Saskatchewan’s 221 physicians per 100,000 people, the second-worst ratio in Canada, according to CIHI.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority stated it was taking action to stabilize and strengthen health-care services in rural Saskatchewan through the Health Human Resource Action Plan.

The SHA said it was performing targeted recruitment and retention strategies.

“These initiatives include additional practice incentives, performing structured pre-licensure assessments for international physicians, and working to expand training opportunities,” the SHA said in a statement.

“The number of licensed physicians in Saskatchewan increased 62 per cent between 2007 and 2023 – that is more than 1,000 doctors.”

The SHA also added that the number of registered nurses licensed to practice in Saskatchewan increased from 2019 to 2023.

“In 2023, Saskatchewan’s number of regulated nursing per capita (1,321 nurses per 100,000 population) was higher than the national rate (1,104 nurses per 100,000) and the highest of the western provinces,” the statement read.

Figures showing a yearly increase in the amount of registered nurses. (Saskatchewan Health Authority)