Health care wait times are far too long in Saskatchewan.
Brad Wall promised to eliminate ER waits, but he’s failed to deliver on that commitment. In fact, he hasn’t even reduced ER waits at all. When we go to the ER now, we wait an average of 3.5 hours – much longer than most Canadians.
Wait times for specialists have jumped to an average of about 11 months.
And surgical wait times have started growing as well, because the Sask. Party cut tens of millions from the budget for surgeries this year.
We also have the worst ambulance fees in all of Canada.
Instead of fixing wait times, or reducing ambulance fees, or fixing crumbling hospitals, the Sask. Party government has wasted hundreds of millions on its Lean pet project, which includes a $40-million contract with one American consultant, $3,500 per day for each Japanese sensei flown in to provide bizarre training, and at least $17 million per year for Lean “Kaizen Promotion Offices.”
Ryan Meili's New Democrats are committed to:
- Putting an end to wasteful pet projects like Lean and ending massive contracts for out-of-country consultants, so those resources can be used where they matter most – on the front lines.
- Shrinking the number of managers at desks in order to expand the number of health care workers at bedsides.
- Reducing ER waits, specialist waits and MRI waits for everyone, by cutting waste and investing wisely.
- Ending ambulance bills for transfers between health care facilities, and capping all other ambulance fees at an affordable rate.
- Properly using health care facilities that have been under-utilized for years, like Saskatoon City Hospital and the Craik Health Centre.
- Developing a multi-year plan to repair crumbling hospitals, such as Royal University Hospital.
- Listening to the wisdom and common sense of front-line health care workers.