The 5 Hills Health Region and the Opposition Saskatchewan Party comment on the recent suspension of acute services in Central Butte.

 

Acute hospital services in Central Butte have been suspended until further notice and further notice appears to be several weeks, if not months away.

The Central Butte Regency Hospital will only offer long term care due to a shortage of Registered Nurses. Meaning no more emergency services, general medical services, or surgical treatment.

5 Hills Health Region CEO Dan Florizone tells us residents in need of medical attention can call 9-1-1 in an emergency situation. Once stabilized, they will then be transported to Moose Jaw.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a solution in the near future according to Florizone. "Its very difficult for me to put a time frame on it, only to say that this is temporary and that we'll be working hard in terms of the recruitment, continuing to look for staff to fill those vacancies."

Meantime, the Saskatchewan Party is getting frustrated with the ongoing health care shortages in our province.

Health Care Critic Don McMorris says it’s a case of the NDP ignoring the issues right in front of them. "We've been hammering at this NDP government to deal with the issues and the issue is human resources... In this particular case we're short RNs and we've been telling the government for many years that we had better start doing a better job of recruiting and retaining the RNs that we're training."

McMorris continues to criticize the NDP for their inability to commit to a plan. "The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses has told the government that we need 600 new nurses in the next couple of years but this government has failed to set a target. They say 'we don't want to set a target because we might not meet it.' That's a terrible attitude and frankly we need a change in government."