Opposition NDP says Saskatoon City Hospital underutilized

SASKATOON – The Opposition NDP is accusing the Saskatchewan government of under-utilizing Saskatoon City Hospital.

NDP Leader Cam Broten quoted health care professionals in bringing up the issue during question period in the Legislature on Thursday.

Broten said he has been informed the hospital has removed acute care service, leading to increased wait times and a lack of service.

Saskatoon Health Region officials said general acute care services have not been removed from the hospital and those services that were removed, such as intensive care and general medicine, were simply reallocated to other hospitals.

Broten is also calling on the government to extend emergency service hours at the hospital.

“When we have crowded ER’s at St. Paul’s, at RUH, and we have these reduced hours at City Hospital for the emergency room, that’s not common sense,” said Broten.

The emergency department is currently open between 9 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

“The answer to overcrowding in emergency isn’t to add more emergency services,” said Maura Davies, president and CEO of the Saskatoon Health Region.

“What we need to do is tackle the root causes of why our emergency departments are so busy.”

Broten said the emergency department should be open until at least midnight to meet the needs of patients.