Over the last five years, hospitals and clinics in small town Saskatchewan have experienced a collective 8613 days of service blackouts, which the Saskatchewan NDP is attributing to Sask. Party funding mismanagement and poor retention of healthcare workers.

For example, according to data obtained through a freedom of information request made by the Saskatchewan NDP, the town of Herbert, two hours west of Regina, saw 971 days of service blackouts at their local hospital in the last half-decade.

Health Critic Vicki Mowat says these closures in smaller centres are causing a backlog in Saskatoon and Regina.

“Our emergency rooms in our big urban centres…are completely full to the max. We have people in hallway beds for days. We have healthcare workers that are doing the best we can, but there just simply aren’t enough spaces to treat those patients.”

NDP MLA Jared Clarke says a lack of healthcare workers has resulted in an unreliable healthcare system and could potentially be life-threatening if the problem isn’t dealt with.

“I think of a stroke. Getting that medication to a stroke patient has to happen within a certain amount of time. If that time is spent driving to a community and then turning around and driving to a city, that’s detrimental to that patient’s recovery or outcome.”

He adds that solutions arise when governments listen to local health care workers in need. Clarke says the workers he has spoken to are asking for a Nursing Task Force, and a program that would allow nurses to secure their jobs while they upscale their training.

If elected, the NDP commit to repairing Saskatchewan’s healthcare system, while simultaneously vowing to suspend taxes for its first term.