Reiter weighs in on massive changes to system
This past year has seen massive changes in Saskatchewan’s health care landscape. Postmedia reporter Pamela Cowan spoke with Health Minister Jim Reiter about the impact of some of those changes on residents now and in the future.
QAre you concerned about increased addiction or drugged driving in the province when marijuana is legalized in July?
AI’m very concerned about the safety aspect . ... It’s a priority for us and it will continue to be a priority for us.
QThe Canadian Cancer Society and the Lung Association are recommending 21 be the legal age to buy pot. What will be the legal age in Saskatchewan?
AThat’s still to be determined. Health won’t be the lead on that, but we’ve had some significant discussions about that already and I’m sure there will be more discussions before the final decision is arrived at ... I’ve had discussions with the Saskatchewan Medical Association where they’re very concerned, and I share those concerns, about an appropriate age, because of the impact it can have on brain development.
QIn the past, you’ve said the move to a single health authority is more about improving patient care than cutting costs. How much will be saved by going to a single entity?
AEven with some senior management positions eliminated, severance packages need to be paid, so there are some offsets. In the first fiscal year, the sort of savings you’ll see between some governance costs with the elimination of the boards, some senior management positions eliminated and with the IT consolidation, we’re expecting in the range of $10 million to $20 million of savings in those areas alone.
QOver a period of years, moving to a single health authority in Alberta reduced costs by about $600 million. Part of that was realized by job losses. How many Saskatchewan healthcare workers will lose their jobs and in what areas?
AIt’s going to be senior management. This isn’t going to affect front line care, although in the long term, we expect it to improve front line care ... We’ll be going from 12 CEOs down to one, we’ll be going to far fewer vice-presidents.
QUnder a single health authority, will we see more healthcare services, such as MRIs, done by private providers?
AI don’t think the move to the single health region will specifically increase or decrease that.
QWhen Alberta amalgamated its health regions, it decentralized control and created five geographic areas — each area with a clinical and operational leader. Will Saskatchewan follow suit?
AWe want to act like a single unit, but we’re also very sensitive to the fact that the head office is in Saskatoon. But that doesn’t mean everything needs to be in Saskatoon. With the technology we have today, people can communicate easily without everyone being in the same location.
QHave you heard concerns from residents in rural Saskatchewan who have problems getting to Regina or Saskatoon for medical appointments because of the loss of STC?
AThe reality is, a huge number of communities in the province didn’t have STC service . ... The fact that we’d be subsidizing a bus company to the tune of $10 million to $20 million that not many people were using for medical appointments, I think that money can be far better used for medical care. (The province later said Reiter’s office received fewer than 20 calls related to the end of STC).
QWhere is the province going with the extra mental-health funding from the federal government?
AMental health is a concern right across the country. I think what hits me is the suicides.
... What I think you’ll see in upcoming budgets is incremental increases in mental-health spending.
QProgress has been slow in reducing ER wait times. What new initiatives will we see?
AThere are a number of reasons why we have those issues . ... I think there are things we can do to make it more efficient and get those down to a more manageable level.