The Official Opposition has released a leaked Saskatchewan Health Authority memo which indicates the Battlefords Union Hospital ICU is closed from July 13th to August 3rd.

Leader Carla Beck says this closure is the latest to not be listed on the SHA’s service disruptions page.

She adds that many rural residents are notified of these disruptions instead through community-run Facebook groups or pages, such as the midway Ambulance page which announced the July ER closures for hospitals in Wynyard and Wadena.

Beck says people shouldn’t have to rely on their community Facebook page during an emergency for information that should be publicly posted on the SHA website.

Rural and Remote Health Critic Matt Love stated that it is a dangerous game to withhold information like this from the public, especially for those driving through the province in search of medical care, and people should not have to rely on their community Facebook page for lifesaving information.