We're heading into a provincial election this fall and there are only a few issues compelling enough to take out to the masses that will generate much passion.
One, we suggest, is surgical wait times and how the list is being reduced thanks to privately delivered surgical procedures paid for with public funds.
Much has been made of the fact that additional millions have been set aside by the provincial treasury to pay the private practitioners for minor surgical procedures and a privately purchased CT scanner, to be set up in Regina. Those operating it will be guaranteed $9.9 million worth of business by the provincial government over the next three years.
That?s just part of an overall extra $40 million in the health care budget this year, most of it earmarked for Regina and Saskatoon.
Critics of these decisions point out that wait lists were already diminishing under a grossly underutilized public system and private (corporate) surgeries will ultimately end up costing the system more.
What is apparently being ignored is the fact that a little decentralizing of surgeries is also an option that few are paying any attention to these days. Talk about underutilization! It is well documented that operating theatres in centres such as Estevan, Swift Current, Yorkton, Prince Albert, et al, sit empty most of the time. There are no wait lists for minor surgeries around here and if regional health authorities are to be believed, the surgery teams are available for far more than their current budgets allow.
There's the rub.
The rural areas could be deployed efficiently to reduce wait times, but that would entail the little issue involving the actual patients.
Instead of being shipped into Regina along with the cash, they could be allowed to stay in Estevan or Yorkton, along with the cash, and have the minor procedures performed at home or near home. But the two major health districts with their built-in cash flow/patient flow/ medical specialist flow might then be in danger of being disrupted and, heaven forbid ? reduced.
The centralist system, including private clinics in the two major cities, must be served. The money, lobbyists and votes dictate that. The rural health delivery system will be shortchanged with the argument that the better good is being served when all patients are funnelled into Regina or Saskatoon, regardless of the severity of their condition.
That is another reason why we feel that within a few months of being re-elected this fall, we?ll be seeing a concentrated effort being made by our current provincial government to unify our 13 current health care regions into two or three. Better to remove the burr under the saddle than to keep flogging the irritated horse.
That?s what they did in Alberta, with mixed results. We?ll see how it goes in Saskatchewan.
