HEALTH CARE IN SASKATCHEWAN NEEDS YOUR VOICE

Our health care system is in crisis. Things have been getting worse and patients are paying the price.

Emergency rooms are on bypass. Ambulances aren’t available when you call. Private health care schemes are weakening our health care system.  Seniors wait months, even years for public long-term care beds. There are 1,500 unfilled health care jobs across the province.

Meanwhile, health care workers haven’t received a fair wage increase in over a decade. In a recent survey of CUPE 5430 members, 70 per cent described their household finances as poor or very poor. Our province’s wages, for most classifications, are lower than British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, and working conditions are worse.

When we are in competition for scarce health workers, these realities risk driving even more health workers away. As the quality of care in our health system gets worse, we can’t risk losing any more health workers that are leaving because they are burnt out, overworked and underappreciated. 

The government has forgotten about investing in their current staff.

We need urgent action to address retention issues by improving wages and working conditions. Our health care workers and health system depend on it.