‘Very disappointed’: Union head frustrated with new health-care plan

The provincial government is touting its new health-care plan as the way it’s going to get Saskatchewan people the care they need, but at least one union head is shaking her head.

“I can’t even tell you, I was very disappointed when I read this,” said Lisa Zunti, president of SEIU-West.

She said there was nothing in the Patients First Health Care Plan that would address the current health-care crisis, and nothing concrete enough for her to say whether it would have any impact at all.

Zunti was part of the surgical initiative for the first patient-first report 15 years ago, and she said this new report is basically the same thing.

“It tells me that they’re not putting the resources into the people that actually work in this province,” said Zunti.

A significant portion of the plan talked about expanding the scope of practice for nurse practitioners and pharmacists, as well the possibility of expansion for other professionals like optometrists and physical therapists.

“I read the word nurse practitioner about 46 times and nothing to address everyone else that is working in this system,” said Zunti.

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Zunti is also frustrated that SEIU-West – which represents a number of health-care workers in the province, including LPNs – wasn’t consulted when the plan was being created.

“My phone number is always in service; they can always reach out to me, they all have my private cell number. I mean, there is no reason not to consult,” she explained.

The province’s plan included using third parties to design, build, own, and operate long-term care homes in Estevan and Watson. Zunti said moving long-term care into the private sphere is a way for the province to not take responsibility for people’s care.

“When you take these services out of the public system, and you have someone making a profit off of them, something is going to suffer and that something that’s going to suffer is the patient or resident and the staff that works there,” she said.

Another point in the plan was for the province to work with unions to strengthen workplace stability – Zunti said the government could start to do that by actually consulting with front-line workers.

“There’s no ideas that I would have come up with that are in this plan, and to add insult to injury, they have referred to Licensed Practical Nurses as Registered Practical Nurses. So that tells you the amount of respect that we are feeling right now,” she said.

LPNs are referred to as RPNs mostly in Ontario.

If the province has consulted SEIU-West, Zunti said there’s a whole host of ideas that could have been offered up, like the need for real staffing initiatives, like increases to wages and improved staff-to-patient ratios, to attract more workers. She said if they want to get people health care in a timely manner, they need the workers and resources to do it.

Province claims consultation contributed to plan

On Monday, Saskatchewan Health Minister, Jeremy Cockrill, said Premier Scott Moe, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health, Lori Carr, and himself have had opportunities to meet with healthcare stakeholders “right across the sector.

“Whether that is health care provides, whether that’s folks like our educational institutions,” Cockrill said.

He said MLAs have a unique job, being “face-to-face with patients each and every single day – whether it’s in your constituency office … or even the grocery store.”

Cockrill said everyone is touched by healthcare at some point in their lives.

“I would say that consultation – hearing stories from people, hearing feedback from patients right across the province about wanting better access, asking why can’t certain professionals do certain things – it’s that type of feedback that’s really led to where we are today with this Patient’s First Health Care Plan, and I think where we’re going to go in the future.”

Expanding scope

Nurse Practitioners and pharmacists were mentioned several times in the plan as areas where the province has already expanded the scope of practice, and where there are opportunities for more.

The province appears to be particularly eyeing nurse practitioners as an untapped resource, planning to allow them to hire a health-care team around them and to have greater responsibilities in emergency rooms and long-term care.

In a news release after the plan was unveiled, the Saskatchewan Association of Nurse Practitioners (SANP) said it’s excited for the role nurse practitioners will continue playing in the future of the province’s health care.

“It is inspiring to see the full potential and impact of NPs being supported by the province,” wrote Toni Giraudier, SANP president, in the release.

She said the part of the plan that is most exciting is the focus on collaborative, team-based care.

The Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan also reacted positively to the announcement, applauding the plan in its own news release.

“We thank the Government of Saskatchewan and the Ministry of Health for taking an innovative approach and using all of the resources available to expand health care access across Saskatchewan,” said CEO of the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan, Michael Fougere, in the release.

According to the association, more than 4,200 services are being offered across the province through the pilot project for pharmacists to assess and treat strep throat and ear infections.

“There is more work to be done, but this is an exciting step in addressing the province’s health care access challenges,” Fougere said.