Moe promises to expand ‘what is working’ in health care if re-elected

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Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe says his government’s health care plan is working; NDP Leader Carla Beck disagrees.

At a campaign event Wednesday at the Sask. Party’s Saskatoon campaign offices, Moe was asked about his party’s plan to deal with issues affecting the province’s health-care system.

He highlighted some of his party’s recent announcements, including a pledge to provide women with cervical self-screening kits as an alternative to the current testing regime, and touted steps his party took in their most recent term, including efforts to recruit health-care professionals.

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“Our health human resources action plan, the most ambitions health human resource action plan in the nation of Canada, is working,” he said.

The action plan has recruited around 1,400 nurses over the past 18 months, he said, adding that the plan, which includes creating additional training spots, needs to be more ambitious in order to reduce the number of service disruptions at health-care facilities, “to ensure that we are decreasing any of the disruptions that we are seeing, whereever they might be.”

Moe also pointed to the establishment of an urgent care centre in Regina and work to build a similar facility in Saskatoon in partnership with Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments. Since opening to serve patients, Moe said the urgent care facility in Regina has been busy.

“It’s seeing numbers through the front door that are rivalling that of the Pasqua and Regina General Hospital,” he said.

Moe called the establishment of urgent care centres new and innovative. Adding more of them in Regina and Saskatoon could be a topic of future discussion, along with expansion to other cities, he said.

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“Do we need one in Prince Albert, do we need one in North Battleford, do we need one in Moose Jaw?”

Beck was also in Saskatoon on Wednesday — raising concerns about the current state of the health-care system.

At a media conference in front of St. Paul’s Hospital, Beck talked about the challenges hospitals face, specifically in emergency care, and pledged to make changes if an NDP government is elected.

She highlighted her party’s pledge to spend an additional $1.1 billion to help emergency rooms and deal with staffing shortages.

Taking questions from media Beck said if her party were to form government its first priority would be support for health-care workers, which would include a task force involving nurses.

“It has to start with stabilizing the existing workforce,” she said.

Beck also promised changes to the Ambulance Act to help paramedics get back on the street faster after delivering patients.

Speaking on Moe’s statement doubling down on previous policies like the health-care resources action plan, Beck said if that program was effective, Saskatchewan’s health-care system would not be experiencing the issues it currently has with staffing shortages and facility closures.

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“It’s not working,” she said of the government’s recruitment plan.

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