Flin Flon area moms still need to travel to give birth
As what was originally billed as a temporary suspension of obstetric services at the General Hospital in Flin Flon, Man., approaches the one year mark, a group of concerned residents is pressing for answers.
“The thing is, we’re still sitting here in limbo wanting to know what’s going on,” said Jan Unruh, co-chair of the We Want Birth Committee, a Flin Flon and area-based group dedicated to getting services restored and supporting expectant mothers.
Manitoba’s Northern Health Region suspended obstetric services in Flin Flon in November 2018 due to a lack of a full-time obstetrician. The gaps in availability led to women having to be taken by ambulance to other facilities to give birth.
Unruh said no one faults the health region for suspending services out of safety concerns but she said frustration was beginning to peak with the Manitoba government delaying the release of a health care plan meant to include a decision on reinstating the services.
Typically, around 60 per cent of the roughly 150 mothers giving birth in Flin Flon each year come from Saskatchewan.
As it stands, women in the area are being asked to travel for about an hour and a half to The Pas, Man., or about four hours to Prince Albert, Sask.
Unruh said travel puts a significant burden on women, who are expected to go well in advance of their due dates and stay in hotels until they can be admitted to hospital. She said First Nations women living on-reserve can get support through their respective bands. Manitoba offers a program that Unruh said covers a portion of the costs for non-first Nations patients from that province.
In an emailed statement, Saskatchewan’s Ministries of Health and Social Services said lower-income families can get help with the costs of travelling for medical services. Emergency transportation costs are covered for all northern residents.
Unruh said that leaves Saskatchewan women who aren’t on social assistance to cover costs that can reach several thousand dollars.
Beyond the costs, she said the extra distance is a cause of concern regardless of which province a mother hails from.
“It can be the deciding factor between life and death in an emergency, right?”
When contacted for comment, Manitoba’s Northern Health Region could not provide a timeline on when a decision would be made, citing the wait for the Manitoba government’s strategy document.
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health noted officials had been in contact with their Manitoba counterparts and area First Nations to ensure women would have access to care.
Unruh said We Want Birth has met with Manitoba’s health minister in the months since the suspension, and had a good relationship with the health authority. On the Saskatchewan side, she said they’d had contact with area NDP MLA Doyle Vermette, along with NDP health critic Vicky Mowat, but to date, hadn’t heard from Saskatchewan’s provincial government beyond an email indicating the Minister of Rural and Remote Health would be unable to attend a forum.
Mowatt said she and fellow NDP MLA Danielle Chartier hosted a town hall on health care in the area over the summer. She said the Sask. Party government ought to be doing more to help make obstetric services available in the area.
“I think there’s a demonstrated need in the community,” she said. “It’s just clear to us that the government has been letting people down on this front.”
Unruh said We Want Birth will continue to press the issue. They have an awareness walk planned in Flin Flon for Nov. 18, the oneyear anniversary of services being suspended.