The Saskatchewan NDP is ridiculing the province’s health minister for a lack of response to a recent letter signed by hundreds of healthcare workers.

On October 12th, 450 frontline healthcare workers, including senior level directors, signed a letter demanding emergency action to address conditions inside Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital. Tuesday, Jeremy Cockrill was at City Hospital for a partnership renewal announcement, but he made no mention of the letter or its contents.

However, the Province provided a written response from Minister Cockrill Wednesday morning, which acknowledges the hardships at RUH and lists the measures that have been taken to increase capacity in Saskatoon’s healthcare system.

These initiatives include a 109-bed expansion at Saskatoon City Hospital, which will increase Saskatoon’s acute care capacity by 14 per cent once complete. He also mentioned a future expansion of the RUH Intensive Care Unit, which will be assigned $3 million from this year’s budget. The statement also made note of the new Emergency Communication Nurse System in Regina and Saskatoon, as well as his government’s commitment to building Urgent Care Centres. The Saskatoon UCC is currently under construction, but Cockrill writes that the one in Regina has seen over 41,000 patients in its first year.

The NDP is requesting more: a plan to end the healthcare crisis at RUH and across the province.

“His silence speaks volumes,” said Keith Jorgenson, Associate Shadow Minister for Health. “When hundreds of professionals sound the alarm, the least the government can do is listen. Instead, the Minister is hiding from the very people keeping our healthcare system afloat.” 

The Opposition will be demanding accountability during the second session of the Thirteenth Legislature today, as well as during the first Question Period of the Fall Sitting Thursday.