Overburdened emergency rooms ‘chronic issue’: NDP

NDP pounds government, claiming employee burnout now at crisis levels

The NDP assailed the government for the third day in a row over what it calls a crisis in Saskatchewan’s emergency rooms, this time drawing on what it says is an internal memo posted in a Regina hospital that points to a revolving door of “overwhelmed” medical staff.

NDP leader Ryan Meili brought up the memo during question period on Wednesday. He said the party obtained it from a former nurse who spotted it at Regina General Hospital.

The memo, a copy of which was shared with the media, warned of “medication and treatment errors” that it connected, in part, to “staff being overwhelmed with other care needs” in the emergency department.

Meili called overburdened emergency rooms a “chronic” issue that’s symptomatic of deeper problems.

“Emergency rooms are the canary in the coal mine of the problems in our health system as a whole,” he told the assembly.

Health Minister Jim Reiter said he had not yet seen the memo when he took questions from reporters on Wednesday. But he agreed that the issue of stresses on emergency staff has come up in the past and is a “concern” for the government.

“That’s not unique to Saskatchewan,” Reiter said. “That’s a highstress occupation.”

He also noted that the very same memo discussed plans to add staff in an attempt to alleviate those pressures.

The government was unable to immediately provide the most recent data for emergency room staff turnover. The memo cited by the NDP provided 2017-18 figures.

It said turnover had shot up from roughly 35 per cent under the old Regina- Qu’appelle Health Region. As of 2017-18, the staff out-migration rate at the Regina General Hospital emergency department was 40 per cent, according to the memo. At Pasqua Hospital’s emergency department, it was reported at 55 per cent during that time frame.

Meili, who previously worked as a family physician, said he’s heard no evidence that matters have improved in the time since. He said the memo proves “the level of burnout in our emergency rooms is very high.”

“Our emergency rooms are intense places to work, and we don’t have enough people to work in them,” he said. “That’s resulting in people saying, ‘I am not coming back. I can’t work there anymore.’”

He blamed it on underfunding and understaffing that has left people “overwhelmed and overstressed.”

According to Meili, the issues could dissuade young medical professionals from agreeing to take the place of those who leave.

Wednesday was the third straight day that the NDP zeroed in on emergency rooms. On Monday, the party brought up the case of Angela Mclean, who reported spending nearly a week being treated in a Pasqua Hospital hallway. The party rehashed the same case on Tuesday.

Reiter has responded by directing the Saskatchewan Health Authority to review what’s causing the “influx” that left Mclean in the hallway. He also has pointed to significant funding increases for health care over the past 12 years and more recent investments to add beds in Regina and Saskatoon.

He took a similar tack on Wednesday during question period.

“This is a very serious issue that we are dealing with right now in the province,” Reiter said.