Parties grapple with issue of ‘hallway medicine’

One woman’s ordeal in a Pasqua Hospital hallway became fodder for a health-care funding dispute in question period on Monday.

Angela Mcleod spent nearly a week being treated in a hallway in Regina’s Pasqua Hospital this month, according to a story first reported by Global News.

NDP Saskatoon Fairview MLA Vicki Mowat drew on Mcleod’s experience to raise concerns about what she called a “crisis” of overcrowding in Saskatchewan’s emergency rooms.

She blamed it on funding that, in her view, “has not kept pace with growth in this province.”

Mowat noted that the government’s recent throne speech did not outline any priorities for addressing pressures on emergency rooms in Saskatchewan.

That prompted a response from Health Minister Jim Reiter, who acknowledged that Mcleod’s experience was “not acceptable.” He told the assembly the government is determined to rectify the issue.

“What’s happening now in emergency rooms is very concerning,” he told reporters after question period.

He blamed the issue, in part, on aging demographics that put pressure on the health system. He said other provinces are grappling with the same challenges. But Reiter admitted that isn’t an excuse.

“We need to do better,” he said. “We need to keep looking at ways that we can mitigate this.”

Mowat argued that Mcleod’s experience is part of a systemic problem. She pointed to real-time data showing 21 people are currently waiting for beds in Saskatoon emergency rooms.

“Angela’s experience at the Pasqua is clearly not an isolated incident,” said Mowat. “It’s the utterly predictable result of Sask. Party cuts to health care.”

She demanded “a full public review of our overcrowded emergency rooms.”

Reiter responded that he has asked the Saskatchewan Health Authority to review what’s causing the influx that left Mcleod and others in the hallway. But he took issue with Mowat’s charges of underfunding. He argued that provincial funding for the health system has grown by more than 60 per cent, far above the rate of inflation, since the Saskatchewan Party formed government in 2007.

Data from public accounts show that health spending increased from about $3.4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2007 to approximately $5.8 billion in the most recently ended fiscal year.

Reiter also pointed to more recent moves to add beds at both Pasqua Hospital in Regina and Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.

But Mowat said the more relevant way to look at underfunding in the health system is through per capita spending, which she said has declined. Reiter accused her of “playing politics” with the numbers to overstate her case.

“I need to see where they got the numbers from,” Reiter responded. “I’m not disputing that this is a problem we have to deal with. Absolutely the critic was right about that. What I took exception to, I mean, is she’s playing politics with it.”

The data Mowat referenced come from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. They show that per capita spending on emergency rooms increased from 2006-07 to 2015-16 in Saskatchewan, but has fallen since then. The same general trend can be seen for total health spending on a per-capita basis.

Despite the “dramatic” increases the province has made in health spending that Reiter stressed, he did acknowledge a need to ensure the money is targeted at the right areas.

We need to do better. We need to keep looking at ways that we can mitigate this.