A delegation of leaders from the Duck Lake area, including the Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation were at the Legislature Thursday, demanding the province address the doctor shortage.
Its alleged the area has not had a physician at the Willow Creek Health Services on the First Nation since last summer, leaving approximately 1000 on-reserve members without a family doctor.
“Its a serious issue,” said Chief Edwin Ananas. “For it to go on unnoticed for a long as it did is unacceptable. Its a very serious issue, which needs to be addressed.”
Ananas said not having a doctor in the community has created a ripple effect, citing a lack of accessibility to a physician or having to travel to Saskatoon, Prince Albert or Rosthern, means people who need health care go without. This has forced the closure of eight available beds at the Duck Lake nursing home, preventing elderly care for area residents.
The leaders explained they raised these concerns in a letter with Rural and Remote Health Minister Tim McLeod in January, but did not receive a response, necessitating the travel to the capital today for a face-to-face meeting. McLeod apologized for a lack of response, vowing to meet with the delegation.
In speaking with reporters, following Question Period, McLeod said recruiting is active for doctors in rural and remote locations, pointing to two recent doctor hires assigned to Rosthern. Yet, Ananas stressed there was no consultation with Duck Lake leaders on the placement of the doctors. He adds when the community found out about the Rosthern doctors, those doctors were not accepting new patients.
“Its not fulfilling our needs,” Ananas said. He’s calling for the province to create a better action plan to address the doctor shortage not only on the First Nation but for the rest of the province.
NDP Leader Carla Beck said the community has been working with the province on this issue for a while, but with no end in sight. She stressed this is part of a larger issue of Saskatchewan losing doctors and nurses, describing the situation as a crisis.