Sask. NDP, health authority clash over long weekend ER wait times

The Saskatchewan NDP claims ER wait times have reached 100 hours in Saskatoon, while the SHA says it is only part of the picture. Jacob Carr reports.

According to Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) data released by the Saskatchewan NDP, one patient at the Royal University Hospital (RUH) in Saskatoon, spent over 100 hours in the emergency room.

A screenshot of a provincial capacity report dated Feb. 13 at 8 a.m. shows reported wait times of 81 hours at Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital, 67 hours at Regina General Hospital, 23 hours at Regina’s Pasqua Hospital and 103 hours at RUH in Saskatoon.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, NDP MLA Jacqueline Roy said the numbers reflect broader pressures in the health-care system.

“We know that people are having difficulty accessing family physicians and nurse practitioners,” she said. “That pushes everything to a critical state. People become sicker, then they go to the ER and it’s overloaded.”

However, the SHA said the figures represent only part of the picture.

In a statement, the health authority said it continuously monitors emergency department and acute-care capacity across the province to support system-wide decision-making, including patient transfers.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

The SHA cautioned that the figures circulating publicly are taken from internal capacity documents and do not reflect how long it takes to see an emergency room physician. Instead, the data represents the total time a patient spends in the emergency department, which varies depending on the severity of their condition and the care required.

The authority said it remains committed to meeting patient needs as close to home as possible and thanked staff and physicians for their ongoing work.

Roy said ongoing discussions with health care workers are important, but argued the current system is failing both staff and patients. She added that creating more full-time positions would help address staffing shortages.

“We will continue these consultations, we’re not going to do them quickly, we’re going to take our time to make sure that we get it right,” she said. “I know they’ve said being treated with respect and dignity is also important to them staying in this province. This is both a health care system that has too many patients and not enough people to meet those demands.”