Saskatchewan’s health minister says he is working on details of the independent review announced by the provincial government and health authority last week, as critics share concerns of who will be consulted and when.
The Ministry of Health, along with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) announced Friday the third-party review to address mounting concerns of hospital safety and security.
It will examine current safety practices and later provide recommendations on how they can be improved across the authority’s facilities, according to the SHA.
But the province’s official Opposition is taking aim at the details still unknown surrounding the review, such as who will be conducting it and when its results will be made public.
“The biggest criticism is scope, timeline and will front-line health-care workers be consulted in that process?” said Nathaniel Teed, Sask. NDP labour critic.
The SHA also announced last week its expansion of metal detectors to other emergency rooms in some of the province’s major cities, after what it’s calling a successful pilot project at the emergency department at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital.
Early last week, metal detectors were added to Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital — a move the hospital’s director says has already proven to be a benefit.
“There has been an overwhelming response by the staff as to how they’re feeling about their safety and well-being here in the facility,” said Carrie Dornstauder, St. Paul’s Hospital executive director.
“This is one step forward and we still have work to do.”
On Monday, Saskatchewan’s First Nations Health Ombudsperson’s Office (FNHOO) shared concerns that Indigenous communities and organizations, including their own, won’t be consulted with in the third-party review despite the growing number of complaints they receive from First Nations patients about mistreatment in health-care facilities.
“We need to be a part of that independent inquiry. We want to be engaged. We’ve been left out of the picture too long,” said Dianne Lafond, FNHOO health ombudsperson.
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Since its establishment in July 2023, the FNHOO has addressed over 547 complaints from First Nations people navigating Saskatchewan’s health-care systems, ranging from mistreatment to racism and discrimination, according to Lafond.
Currently, the FNHOO says it is investigating 20 serious complaints between hospital security and First Nations patients, something the organization says reveals a troubling pattern.
But Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill dismisses concerns that the review won’t include Indigenous leadership, saying he has been in “regular contact” with them.
“I’ve had several conversations over the last month with STC Tribal Chief Arcand, had the opportunity to meet with PAGC Grand Chief Hardlotte following the incident that we had at Prince Albert Victoria Hospital,” Cockrill told reporters Wednesday following an unrelated press conference.
“We’re still finalizing the scope of the review and who will be conducting that review, but you know we’ve had the opportunity to engage with the First Nation Health Ombudsman’s Office previously [and] always open to more engagement down the road,” Cockrill said.
Saskatchewan’s opposition is also taking aim at the necessity of a review, saying recommendations were already made in 2024 from the provincial auditor.
“I think the health ministry know what solutions need to happen. My concern is that it’s the usual rinse and repeat crisis,” said Teed.
As for when the results of the review can be expected, Cockrill says it won’t take long despite there being no timeline for the selection of the third-party expert to conduct the review or when it will be completed by.
“This is not a years and years and years review,” said Cockrill.
“We want to turn this review around in weeks or months to make sure that we can figure out what are the next steps that we need to take beyond metal detectors, beyond adding additional protective services officers to ensure that those providing care and those receiving care feel safe.”
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