The Official Opposition has released a leaked internal Saskatchewan Health Authority memo which states that a Medical ICU bed at Regina General Hospital will close until early September because of staffing shortages. The memo says, “Despite a number of recruitment strategies, we are finding significant staffing challenges in the Intensive Care Unit at the Regina General Hospital. NDP Leader Carla Beck states that the memo also says staffing these beds over the last number of months has relied heavily on contract workers, but a number of contracts cancelled at the last minute.

She suggests that while the Sask Party government says their recruitment plan is working, the internal memo paints a different picture. The NDP urges the government to work with healthcare workers on retention strategies and promote some of the under-utilized staff, like the part-time and casual healthcare workers, into full-time positions. (with files from CKRM)