HEALTH CARE DEBATE
Mr.
Wall:
— Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to enter this debate
this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, to speak to the issue of the terms of
reference that have been given to the standing committee. Mr.
Deputy Speaker, I think we’ve heard from a number of the
speakers here who tried to reflect from their own critic areas,
but perhaps, most importantly, from their own constituencies,
their concern for the reference as it has been laid out in the
original motion. I think there is some skepticism on this side of
the House, some skepticism about the government’s intention for
this committee. And I think some of that skepticism was borne out
on Friday last with the speeches from two future members of that
standing committee — one, the Minister of Education, and the
other, the future Chair of the committee I believe, the member for
Saskatoon Eastview. I think it’s fair to say that you could
characterize or summarize the comments that both of them made this
way. That the government seems to have concluded that the Fyke
report is the way to go and that they intend on moving in that
direction notwithstanding some commitment they’ve made to this
hearing process that they wish to have. And I think that’s cause
for some concern, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and the reason why you’re
hearing it on this side of the House. But I would like to address
a few other reasons for the skepticism that I would personally
have, and I’d like to address those concerns specifically as it
relates to the experience of the constituency of Swift Current
with this government on matters of health care. And I think you
will see why my constituents, the people back home and myself,
would share that skepticism about the government’s intention and
would be skeptical that indeed the government has come to its own
conclusions, and so that this committee is nothing more than a
political exercise they wish to go to, to study the study and then
wind up implementing it. We also hear, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that
Saskatchewan Health in fact already has implementation committees
set up related to Fyke. Now where I come from, that sounds like
there are committees being set up to implement the Fyke report
prior to the hearings that this government says it wishes to have
through the Standing Committee on Health Care. Maybe that’s not
the exact technical term, maybe that’s not the exact technical
term, but I understand that these implementation committees either
have been struck or are being struck to implement the Fyke report.
And that further causes us some grave concern about the
genuineness of this process that we’re about to undertake with
the Standing Committee on Health Care. And there are some specific
Swift Current issues I’d like to address that also give us cause
to be skeptical of the government’s intentions in this regard.
And they stem from the experience that we’ve had with this
government with two different ministers, the two most recent
Health ministers, the current one and his predecessor, as regards
health care. Mr. Deputy Speaker, earlier this year I wrote to both
ministers, to the former minister of Health, and then a subsequent
letter to the current Minister of Health, to express grave concern
with the situation in Swift Current, with the health care
situation at the Swift Current Regional Hospital where bed
closures were causing severe difficulties for health care
professionals to deliver the kind of service that they want to
deliver to the residents of Swift Current and, indeed, all of
southwest Saskatchewan. And so they raised concerns with me, did
these health care professionals, as did many people in the
constituency who had experienced the lack of quality health care
from the hospital for some time. And I in turn raised them with
the ministers of Health. The most recent effort took place in
early March, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when I raised the concerns with
the Minister of Health, the current Minister of Health, about the
closure of beds and the impact that that was having in Swift
Current.
And
I can tell you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that the minister’s response
was that I was fearmongering. That what was causing the difficulty
at the Swift Current hospital was a weekend outbreak of
bronchitis. Here was his quote, Mr. Speaker. This is what the then
Minister of Health had to say about the legitimate concerns raised
in Swift Current on the closure of beds. He said — this is the
Minister of Health — he said: “Unfortunately this weekend they
had a few extra bouts of elderly people with bronchitis and had to
use the beds designated for day surgeries on an emergency basis,
which led to the cancellation of elective surgeries. Now those
cancellations caused a concern (Mr. Deputy Speaker),” said
Nilson. And that’s a quote from The
Southwest Booster,
our paper in Swift Current and area, Mr. Deputy Speaker. That’s
what the minister said. We raised sincere concerns on behalf of
patients, on behalf of health care professionals. He said, well it
was just an outbreak of bronchitis. This despite the fact that we
let the media and the government know that one gentleman in
particular this winter reported to the emergency unit of the Swift
Current hospital, from the constituency of my colleague, the
member for Cypress Hills — this gentleman lives in Gull Lake —
and he went to the emergency room. And the attending physician
looked at him and he had a temperature that was at a dangerously
high level. And the doctor basically admitted that this man should
be in the hospital. But there were no beds, Mr. Deputy Speaker, so
would he go check in to a local motel — this is the request they
made of him — would he go and check in to a local motel and come
in for intermittent treatment for his fever. That is the minor
inconvenience that this outbreak of bronchitis caused, Mr. Deputy
Speaker. What did the doctors of Swift Current say when they heard
the Minister of Health incredibly make this statement? Well, Mr.
Speaker, the doctors today will be skeptical of this
government’s motion on Fyke, because here’s what they had to
say about the Minister of Health’s writing all of this episode
off to an outbreak of bronchitis. And this is also quoting from The
Southwest Booster,
March 3, 2001, in an article with the headline called “Critical
bed shortage at regional hospital compromising patient care, says
doctors.” I’m quoting now, Mr. Deputy Speaker: The local
association of family physicians says that shortage of acute care
beds at the Swift Current Regional Hospital is critical and
compromising patient care including that of expectant mothers and
babies. That’s what the association of family physicians had to
say. And they responded to the minister’s assertion, Mr.
Speaker, that this was just a problem generated by a few extra
cases of bronchitis in February. Mr. Speaker, here’s what Dr.
Rajmohamed, the chief of family medicine at Swift Current Regional
Hospital had to say about the Minister of Health’s assertion,
quote: I was extremely surprised to hear that. Reference the
minister’s comment on bronchitis. And I’ll continue the quote:
“Certainly
no discussion had come out in the hospital regarding an epidemic
of bronchitis,” said Dr. Rajmohamed, chief of family medicine at
the Swift Current Regional Hospital. That is why people in Swift
Current are skeptical of this government when it comes to health
care. That is why they’re certainly skeptical about the motion
that is before us today. Mr. Speaker, in addition to that, I can
tell you that, notwithstanding the minister’s assurances that
this problem would eventually go away because after all it was
just caused by a bronchitis outbreak which our local doctors and
nurses and patients knew not to be true, despite that fact, the
problem exists today. There is a still a shortage of beds, Mr.
Speaker. There is still a problem. We still have long-term care
patients taking up acute care patients. We still have acute care
patients being transferred up to maternity. We still have new
mothers . . . or new babies and mothers being sent home
prematurely because they need to make way in the maternity ward
for acute care beds. That’s the situation today at the Swift
Current Regional Hospital, and that is why people are skeptical
when it comes to this government’s commitment to health care.
The other reason that they’re skeptical is the reason that I
reference every single day so far of this session when you afford
us the opportunity to present petitions, Mr. Speaker. I’ve stood
in my place and presented petitions that when I’m finished will
total over 6,000 signators calling on this government to carefully
consider — it doesn’t sound like an extreme request to me —
to carefully consider Swift Current’s request for a new regional
hospital. Mr. Speaker, our hospital was built in 1948. It hasn’t
had a meaningful capital improvement since 1971 when I was six
years old. And in order to, in part, help accommodate some of the
concerns that are being raised by our physician associations and
our local chapter of SUN (Saskatchewan Union of Nurses), we are
calling on this government to give what is due Swift Current, and
that is careful consideration of its request for a new hospital.
And that seems to be falling on deaf years in two successive
budgets. Rather, beds are being closed, Mr. Speaker. Beds are
being closed. Another reason for people to be skeptical about this
government’s intentions. And I just want to also highlight very,
very quickly another reason why we might be a little bit leery
about this government’s commitment and the terms of reference
that they would like to give to the Standing Committee on Health
Care we’re debating here today. And it relates to the Committee
of the Whole proceedings we had when Mr. Fyke appeared before the
bar and was here to answer questions. And my understanding was the
same as all of the members on this side of the House — that we
would all be afforded the opportunity to question Mr. Fyke. And
almost all of the members here I believe, Mr. Speaker, on this
side had gone back to their constituencies, had called back home
and talked to their local health care professionals, people that
had an interest in health care, and said, if you had 10 minutes
alone with Mr. Fyke, what would you ask him, because we would like
to do that for you. I certainly did. I know many members opposite
did. And we waited patiently for our chance to put those questions
— not political questions, not contrived questions on our part
— questions from nurses and from doctors, Mr. Speaker . . .
(inaudible interjection) . . . Well the member for Regina
Elphinstone yells from his seat that I should check Hansard
about
the questions that were asked. And here’s a bit of a news flash
for him. I didn’t get to ask any questions, Mr. Speaker, because
the House Leader cut off the proceedings that night.
Some
Hon. Members:
Hear, hear!
Mr.
Wall:
— I didn’t ask one single question that the nurses in Swift
Current and the doctors had carefully offered for our
consideration. And I just want to review them, some of them, very
quickly, not all of them. Here’s some notes from the local SUN
president in Swift Current. These are just comments I’ll just
briefly read into the record if I may, Mr. Speaker. Looking at the
map of Southwest, Swift Current should be the regional hospital.
There’s a bit of a pause and they say they’re very concerned
about Swift Current being situated in a district with Moose Jaw.
That was just a concern they had; they wanted Mr. Fyke to comment
because his configuration of regions in both cases had us with
Moose Jaw. What about diagnostic equipment such as the CAT scan in
Swift Current? If we’re in a district with Moose Jaw, would this
equipment all go to Moose Jaw? That’s a fair question from the
local chapter. Here’s another one: As they close the smaller
hospitals, how is this going to reduce the waiting list; i.e.
patients would receive treatment in Regina, but would they have to
stay in Regina for five weeks for rehab or would the patient be
sent home or what? These are all from SUN. And finally they ask:
Nurses are also really concerned in Swift Current with long-term
care in particular, and what about mental health? The feeling is
that psychiatric and mental health services are being left out.
That was another question they had for Mr. Fyke. And the
association of physicians in Swift Current, led by Dr. Rajmohamed,
also made a point of sending me very many questions, some of them
very similar. Some of them concerned about our co-location with
Moose Jaw in the same region. Some speaking to the dire need for a
new facility in Swift Current, and what were Fyke’s implications
on the new facility for Swift Current. Some concerned about this
whole process of diagnosing patients and primary medical teams.
The doctors . . . the physicians’ association, as given voice by
their president — by the president, Dr. Rajmohamed — had very
good questions to ask. And I intended to ask those questions on
their behalf to Mr. Fyke, but the evening’s proceedings were cut
off, Mr. Speaker, by the government. And, Mr. Speaker . . .
(inaudible interjection) . . . Well the House Leader yells from
his seat it was cut off after six and a half hours. I would tell
you on behalf of the nurses of the local chapter of SUN and also
on behalf of our physician association, that if it took all night
we should have stayed and asked those questions on their behalf,
Mr. Speaker. That’s why we all get paid in this place in the
first place.
Some
Hon. Members:
Hear, hear!
Mr.
Wall:
— That’s why we get paid. Mr. Speaker, I want to conclude with
these remarks. I want to conclude, Mr. Speaker, that we have
grave, grave concerns about the real purpose behind these terms of
reference. We have grave concerns about the real intent of this
government, that it’s just a political exercise, this committee
and these hearings. And we have a right to have that concern, Mr.
Speaker, based on their past action, based on their record. And
the people of Swift Current, those who need health care and those
who deliver it, the nurses and the doctors and other health care
professionals, Mr. Speaker, they have a right to be skeptical. And
I am glad to give voice to that skepticism today by telling you,
Mr. Speaker, that I will be voting against the motion and in
favour of the amendment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Some
Hon. Members: Hear, hear! |
