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The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the provincial government to address the lack of birth services in northeast Saskatchewan communities.
Health Critic Vicki Mowat says northeastern communities like Creighton have been without birth services for more than a year since the obstetrics services at the hospital in Flin Flon, Man., were shut down.
“They recently had a rally in the community to try to raise awareness. We’ve been vocal advocates but it has been a year now and it’s time that the minister of health in Saskatchewan talk to his counterpart next door (in Manitoba) and get this figured out,” Mowat said Thursday.
“Women are being expected to travel hours to give birth. If you are coming from Creighton to Prince Albert, there is no cell service for hours. It’s completely unacceptable for families to have to face this level of uncertainty at a time in their lives that is not easy to plan.”
According to Kirsten Fritsch — a member of the We Want Birth Committee in Creighton — the lack of close-by birth services in her community put pregnant women in a tough spot.
“Women in the weeks leading up to their deliveries are being forced to decide if they wait it out in town and risk the hour-and-a-half drive to The Pas, Manitoba, on unpredictable highways or if they leave weeks in advance and find a relative or a connection to stay with so it’s undue emotional and financial strain,” she said.
“I don’t think many people realize the realities of the highway in northeastern Saskatchewan. Just to get to Saskatoon, I travelled 330 kilometres with no cellphone service. And for women to get to Prince Albert from our northeastern communities, that’s a reality for them — and at any stage in their pregnancy, that’s putting them at risk.”
Mowat said it’s time for the Sask. Party to “step up to the plate and stop letting people down.”
“They have a responsibility to provide care to the residents of this province so they need to sit down with the minister in Manitoba and get it figured out,” Mowat said.