Sask. health minister, NDP battle over claims about Regina’s NICU

The provincial government says reports of specific problems in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Regina General Hospital aren’t true.

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) claimed there was a shortage of ventilators in the unit, and told Global News that mothers and babies were having to be moved out of the province, even to North Dakota, because of capacity issues.

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Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said both of those claims are false.

“That is inaccurate information,” Cockrill said.

“It is irresponsible to spread that information. Expectant mothers in the southern half of this province, they can expect that, despite capacity challenges, we have qualified health care workers at the General (and) at our other facilities across the province that are ready to care for them and their newborn babies.”

The Saskatchewan Health Authority said no NICU babies or mothers have been sent out of province due the recent surge in demand. In an email, the health authority added that no NICU patients have been transferred out of province since January 2021, and no NICU patients have been transferred out of country since 2008.

Five of the six health centres 980 CJME contacted in North Dakota with a neonatal unit said they had not recently had any NICU patients from Saskatchewan. The sixth did not respond by publication time.

Cockrill said some patients might be moved to the children’s hospital in Saskatoon if they need a higher level of care, or to the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert to be closer to family.

When it comes to ventilators in the NICU, Cockrill said he wasn’t aware of any point in the last few weeks where all the ventilators at the NICU were in use, adding that as of Tuesday morning, there were seven or eight of them available in the unit.

Cockrill said the NICU in Regina has seen a surge of babies lately, with more premature babies and more multiple births, which puts more pressure on the unit. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the NICU had 24 or 25 beds in use.

The health minister acknowledged challenges with capacity saying the biggest challenges are around beds and staffing. He said he gave the health authority direction on Tuesday morning to increase baseline staffing levels in the NICU on a permanent basis.

Derek Miller, the health authority’s chief operating officer, said it will be just over 19 full-time-equivalent positions, and they’ll be posted in the days and weeks ahead. He said the increase in staff will help the unit cope when the NICU gets to and over its 25-bassinet capacity.

Cockrill said he hadn’t yet spoken to SUN president Tracy Zambory about the claims. He said the province is heading into a bargaining situation with nurses and that there will likely be “rhetoric” on both sides.

980 CJME requested an interview with Zambory Tuesday, but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Meara Conway, the Saskatchewan NDP’s rural and remote health critic Meara Conway said the minister has basically acknowledged there is a crisis in the NICU with his order to increase staffing levels.

She said the NDP has been talking to workers, and has confirmed that there have been cases of patients being transferred out of the unit over the last number of years, and said there’s no doubt there’s a shortage of both staff and ventilators.

“There is a shortage of staff. There is a shortage of ventilators. Patient safety is at risk, and when we’re talking about patients in this context, it is our tiniest and most vulnerable patients,” said Conway.

SUN has reported that 44 “work situation” reports have been made in the NICU over the past several months – reports made by health-care workers when they feel a situation has become unsafe.

Conway said the only reason the public knows about problems in the NICU is because nurse spoke up, saying the government is not being transparent about the issue.

Conway, who is an expectant mother herself, took issue with the minister saying the NDP and union were sowing fear.

“Why would they sow fear with expectant mothers? That’s not why you get into NICU nursing, if you ask me,” she said.

Conway said the minister is pointing fingers and playing political games when the families who need the NICU just want to see solutions.

Conway tried to introduce a motion on Tuesday calling for action and daily reporting on the NICU, but it was voted down by government members.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information gained from North Dakota health centres.