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The Saskatchewan government is committing to daily updates on which health facilities and services are being temporarily closed.
Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill told the chamber Thursday the Saskatchewan Health Authority will have a list of disruptions on its website that will be updated every day at 4 p.m.
“There was frustrations around the notification process for disruptions,” Cockrill told the chamber in response to questions from the Opposition NDP.
Saskatchewan residents have been dealing with mounting health service closures that occur with little to no notice.
Earlier Thursday, NDP health critic Jared Clarke said data obtained through freedom of information searches shows there were 643 service disruptions from November 2023 to May 2025.
That is up significantly from 86 such disruptions recorded in 2018-19.
Service disruptions range from emergency room closures to cancelled laboratory work and surgeries.
“Hundreds of these closures have involved rural emergency rooms,” Clarke told the legislative assembly.
Clarke said patients face the frustration of driving to a facility, finding a notice on the door saying it is closed, only to then drive to another facility and see the same closed sign.
Nurse Cindy Landrie, who works at Battlefords Union Hospital, told reporters its CT scanner has been intermittently closed this year due to staffing shortages and the intensive care unit was so full that patients had to be sent elsewhere.
“That’s unacceptable. We should be able to look after all in the community and surrounding area,” said Landrie, a nurse of 26 years in North Battleford who appeared with the NDP at the news briefing.
“I just find we’re not valued anymore. We need to look at the people we have and value them to retain them while also look at recruitment.”
Clarke said Cockrill’s promise for more updated information doesn’t go far enough.
He introduced a private member’s bill that would require the health authority to make known any emergency room closure within one hour.
“This information could save people’s lives,” he said.
“The (government’s) policy, which could be changed at any time, is only going to be updated once a day,” Clarke later told reporters. “This is not what folks in rural Saskatchewan have been asking for.”
Private member’s bills rarely pass through the legislature.
Cockrill told reporters the province may consider changing when the timing notifications are released. He said updating the website daily makes sure it’s not too onerous to manage.
“The biggest goal is reducing the number of disruptions, right?” he said. “That’s what I want the Saskatchewan Health Authority spending the bulk of their time on.”
Cockrill said the province is working on hiring more staff, while providing one-time payments to attract workers to rural areas.
The province has also added more training seats in post-secondary schools to get more health-care graduates into the workforce.
“I think we’re making progress. There’s still challenges, no doubt about it,” he said. “If you look at what’s going on in other provinces, too, I think it’s challenging.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.
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