Disappointment on Sask. Information changes due to emergency room closure
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is changing the way it updates residents about emergency room closures in the province.
Starting next week, the health authority is expected to begin posting daily updates of all disruptions reported to emergency services in Saskatchewan, improving on the current system that only provides updates on service disruptions lasting a week or more.
In response to a question from the opposition NDP in the legislature Thursday about notifying residents about emergency room closures, Health Minister Jeremy Cockerill pointed to a news release that had just been issued.
“I heard directly from community members and community leaders across the province this summer that there was frustration with the notification process for disruptions,” Cockerill said.
“That’s why I’ve tasked the Saskatchewan Health Authority with coming up with a new process.”
The Saskatchewan NDP has been drawing attention to several service disruptions in recent months, including a news release on October 14 – after the Thanksgiving long weekend – that said the provincial health authority was “recklessly” redirecting patients in Kipling from the city’s closed emergency room to the emergency room in Arcola, which was also closed.
Cockerill said later Thursday that his request to the health authority was motivated by feedback from Saskatchewan residents, not the NDP’s call.
In its news release Thursday, the health authority said emergency service closures could be due to staff and physician vacancies, unplanned absences, scheduled holidays or facility or equipment upgrades.
NDP rural health critic Jared Clarke said the new notification policy doesn’t go far enough. He pointed to hundreds of examples of emergency room closures of varying lengths over the past few years.
He said the Saskatchewan government should pass his private member’s bill, introduced Thursday, which specifies that the public will be notified of hospital emergency room closures in the province “within one hour of approval of the closure by the provincial health authority.”
The change announced Thursday by the health authority says updates will be provided once daily at 4 p.m. CST on its websiteStarting next week.
Asked whether the new system could be improved to update closures in real time, Cockerill said there must be a balance of priorities pursued by the health authority.
