The Saskatchewan provincial budget included a record $6.8 billion in healthcare spending, which is a 4% increase over last year..“We appreciate the significant funding increase for health care in this budget. These investments position us for success to recover from COVID and advance key priorities for the residents of Saskatchewan,” said Andrew Will, Interim CEO of Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA)..During the debate on the budget, NDP Opposition Deputy House Leader Alena Young and the Minister of Health Paul Merriman spouted off different Saskatchewan healthcare statistics..“You want to talk about negative, let’s talk about the 1,600 unfilled health care jobs in the province right now. Let’s talk about 82 fewer, fewer family doctors than last year. And as for the folks who rely on those health care professionals, well they’re leaving too,” said Young..“As I’ve corrected the record many times in this House, there are 118 more doctors practising in this province than were in 2018, Mr. Speaker, 1,000 more doctors than was under their government. Because what they did over there is they closed 52 hospitals,” responded Merriman. .“Doctors are leaving the profession faster than they can be replaced,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. However, he did not provide any statistics to back up his statement..Regardless of whose medical statistics are correct. Medical staffing is a critical issue and the government created a new agency focused on recruiting medical professionals to the province..“The provincial budget also reflects the critical need for focused strategies on health human resources. The creation of a new and dedicated agency for this purpose is a recognition of the challenge. We are committed to working with our partners in the health system to ensure this new organization is positioned for success,” said Will..Wotherspoon mentioned the postponed Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer screenings. They lead to more spending and higher mortality rates because the cancer was not caught early. .Because of COVID-19, there are 40,000 patients waiting for surgery across the province. The government introduced additional PST on public events to help pay for the surgical backlog, and the new agency to recruit more medical professionals..There’s significant disagreement between what the NDP thinks is in the budget and the government. Particularly in the areas of long-term care, domestic violence, and drug addiction..“The last two years have been devastating for seniors in long-term care, but we see little to no support for seniors struggling on fixed incomes. Nothing for second stage housing for those fleeing violence, despite nation-leading rates of domestic violence. In the face of an opioid epidemic, we again see no assistance in community-led harm reduction initiatives,” said Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili..The SHA and Minister of Health dispute the NDP’s assessment of long-term care, domestic violence, and drug addiction programs..“By investing in mental health and addictions services, increased surgical volumes, critical care capacity, ongoing demand for COVID programming, additional supports for seniors, health care infrastructure and other key programs, this budget will enable us to strengthen critical health services for the people of Saskatchewan and further our commitment to provide high-quality care as close to home as possible,” said Will..“We have opened up long-term care beds on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker. We have opened up hospitals and will continue to do that,” said Merriman during the budget..Overall, the NDP was unhappy with the budget while other organizations saw some positives..“Our health care teams have shown innovation, ingenuity and resilience in the face of unprecedented pressures during the COVID pandemic. I am confident that this budget will help us build on the demonstrated strength of our health care teams and improve health services in every corner of our province,” said Will..The Premier’s Office did not respond to requests seeking further comment on the healthcare budget..Chris Oldcorn is a Western Standard Reporter based in Regina.,coldcorn@westernstandard.news,.Twitter: @chrisoldcorn
