Throughout the Saskatchewan election campaigns, issues like education and affordability have been at the forefront of discussions. However, the most pressing concern appears to be health care. The health care system in Saskatchewan has been under significant strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents are struggling with long hospital waiting times, a lack of available family doctors and specialists, and nurses on the brink of burnout.
Morgana Scully, a resident who has lived with chronic illnesses since she was 17 years old, is all too familiar with these challenges. She has been told that her latest diagnosis requires her to seek treatment outside the province as there are no specialists in Saskatchewan equipped to manage her condition, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This experience has motivated her to pursue a career in medicine to address these healthcare gaps.
The shortage of doctors is a widespread problem in the province. For instance, Jeanie Dooley has been seeking a family doctor for over a year with no success. According to Dooley, even when doctors are accepting new patients, the waiting lists are extensive and can take up to 18 months or more.
Family physician, Adam Ogieglo, suggests that the key to resolving this crisis lies in incentivizing existing doctors and training more practitioners. He emphasizes the urgency of this issue, as not only young and healthy individuals are lacking access to primary care, but also older individuals with other health conditions.
The rise of private health care has been a controversial topic in Saskatchewan, the birthplace of Medicare. Steven Lewis, a professor of health policy at Simon Fraser University, argues that implementing private clinics could worsen the personnel problems in the public system and believes that funds should be distributed across public health-care facilities instead.
In the upcoming provincial election, both main political parties are promising to bolster the healthcare industry. The Saskatchewan NDP Leader, Carla Beck, has pledged to hire 800 new front-line health-care workers over four years. The Saskatchewan Party, on the other hand, highlights their $7.6 billion investment into health care in the recent budget and promises to augment mental health and addictions funding by $34 million.
As the election nears, the future of health care in Saskatchewan remains a top priority for voters and politicians alike.
