Nurse practitioner, NDP critical of provincial health plan

It’s been just over a week since the provincial government released its Health Human Resources Action Plan, a major investment aiming to help recruit, train, incentivize and retain healthcare workers in the province.

But the plan is coming under criticism, with the official opposition pointing to a lack of consultation with actual health workers in the province.

Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, said members of the opposition have visited a number of communities across the province and have been hearing that message from workers who want the government to listen to them and their concerns.

Beck said they need “a willing partner in the government” who will sit down and listen.

“It is something that we’ve heard in communities like Kamsack, North Battleford, Swift Current, all across the province,” Beck said.

Nurse Practitioner Jenna-Lee Hostin, who joined Beck at a news conference Friday, said the government’s plan should focus on taking care of the workers already here, rather than spending their time on recruitment.

“(The plan) does not provide any solutions to retaining nurses who are already employed, as these nurses are not eligible for any of the allocated funding,” Hostin said, adding that the government had plenty of opportunities to speak with the workers who understand exactly what is needed.

Beck said the government needs to provide an open door when it comes to such an important plan, instead of just visiting facilities, nodding their heads and ignoring suggestions from workers.

“There are people willing to step in, (and) do the collaboration that’s needed. What they want is a willing partner in the government to actually sit down and build out these long-term solutions,” she said.

Hostin said the frustration has grown among nurses and other health workers over the past few years.

“We talk about a lot resilience in our profession and, you know, the resilience is just not there any longer,” she said.

“I have daily conversations with both registered nurses and NP colleagues saying they don’t want to be in this system anymore, they don’t want to be in this province anymore. But we don’t have any opportunity. Where are we supposed to go?”

Hostin said many are leaving the profession because their frustrations, while many others are thinking about doing the same.

If she had a chance to sit down with Premier Scott Moe and Health Minister Paul Merriman, Hostin said she would ask why additional funding wouldn’t apply to employees who’ve been in the system for years, instead of applying only to new nurses.

The provincial government said in a statement that Merriman and Everett Hindley, minister of rural and remote health, spent time this summer visiting more than 25 communities across the province touring health facilities and meeting with health care providers along with community leaders.

According to the statement, the ministers heard consistently that additional staffing and resources are needed in order to meet patient care needs, and once the plan is established they will be working with partners to create short- and long-term strategies and programs that support the retention of physicians, nurses and other health professionals in Saskatchewan.