To the Editor:
The Saskatchewan Green Party has learned that the Sunrise Health Region has allegedly aggregated the distribution of prescription drugs through one pharmacy in Yorkton. It is alleged that just one pharmacy in the Health Region will distribute prescriptions to hospitals and care homes within the Health Region from now on. If this allegation is true, then a number of questions need to be posed:
Was the decision allegedly made to drop small town pharmacies in the Sunrise Health Region from distributing prescriptions to the hospitals and care homes in favour of just one pharmacy?
Was the alleged choice of the one pharmacy in Yorkton opened up for public tendering?
How was the alleged decision made to go with one particular pharmacy?
If this centralization decision was allegedly made, what is the justification for cutting off the small town pharmacies without giving these businesses a chance to replace their lost income?
How much did it allegedly cost the Sunrise Health Region to carry out the centralization?
Was any research done by Sunrise or the Ministry of Health to justify this alleged centralization?
Has the Sunrise Health Region or the Ministry of Health launched a process for monitoring the short and long term effects of this alleged centralization?
The alleged centralization of distributing prescription drugs within the Sunrise Health Region institutions, if true, is devastating to the economies of the towns and villages with the affected pharmacies.
If the alleged decision was made to centralize these prescription drug distributions, then it's a case of the Wall Government picking winners and losers in East Central Saskatchewan. Premier Brad Wall and Health Minister Dustin Duncan need to provide answers to these questions about the alleged centralization scheme; this government needs to be accountable to taxpayers or stand aside when the next election comes in 2016.
Victor Lau, Leader of the Saskatchewan Greens, David Sawkiw, Candidate for Kelvington-Wadena, Regina, SK and Preeceville, SK.
