Politics with Murray Mandryk
Page 14 - JanUarY 5 , 2017 - martensville messenger
rural sask likely to struggle in 2017
If you thought 2016 wasn ’ t exactly the best year for rural Saskatchewan , hold on to your hats , folks . It ’ s quite possible 2017 could be worse .
The thought crosses one ’ s mind not only because the start of the year is prime time to delve into such matters , but also because we are already seeing signs that the austerity measures will hit rural Saskatchewan hard .
Premier Brad Wall ' s Saskatchewan Party government made a decision in November to suspend the Community Rink Affordability Grant — the $ 2,500 grants for the operation and improvement of hockey and curling rink . To be clear , this wasn ’ t a subsidy just for rural folks . City curling and hockey rinks were eligible for it as well , however it surely can be argued that a larger base of hockey players and curlers in cities would mean a greater ability to offset the loss of grant money .
For that reason , the program was identified as being aimed at benefitting rural curling and / or hockey rinks that are the heartbeat of rural communities . The numbers suggest that this is clearly the case . Last year alone , the grant was doled out to 633 ice surfaces ( meaning , that it cost taxpayers nearly $ 1.6 million ) representing 373 communities . Let that sink in for a moment .
The very notion that there are still 373 Saskatchewan communities that are viable enough to support a curling and / or hockey rink may come as a surprise to some . However , it speaks to the heart of a province that has produced some of the best curlers in the world ( notwithstanding the fact that a Saskatchewan rink has not won the men ’ s briar since Rick Folk in 1980 ) and has produced more NHL players per capital than any place on the planet . It is for that reason that Parks , Culture and Sport Minister Ken Cheveldayoff and his 29 rural colleagues in the Sask . Party caucus would not have taken this particular austerity measure lightly .
" Any kind of money we can get from elsewhere is very advantageous to operating recreational facilities in small towns ,” Kinistino Mayor Leonard Margolis recently told CBC Radio . “ We ’ ll have to increase our levies that we charge various groups to use the facility , increase our rental , and fundraise more .” Given that Sask . Party as recently as last September served notice that the Community Rink Affordability Grant already would be renewed for a fifth year , going back on its word and cancelling this program would have been that much tougher .
But while this was a tough one for Cheveldayoff and the rural MLAs in particular , it was very much the right decision . Sadly , it might be the first of many tough decisions that will hit rural Saskatchewan in the coming year .
C o n s i d e r Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson ’ s recommendation in the first volume of her 2016 report released last June . In her report , Ferguson questioned why we continue to provide ever larger farming operations with the same Farm Fuel Tax rebate that was introduced in 1987 .
“ It has not specifically been determined what the fuel exemption program is designed to achieve ( other than reducing taxes for eligible individuals or corporations ),” Ferguson said in her June report , referring to the $ 120.1-million farm fuel subsidy in 2016-17 budget . A province now facing a billion-dollar 2016-17 budget decision will shell out approximately , $ 3.9 billion in
Provincial
Politics with Murray Mandryk
tax exemptions .
On that list are provincial sales tax exemptions that include $ 83.8 million for farm machinery and repair parts and $ 163.4 million for fertilizer , pesticides and seed . This is not to say that others in this province aren ’ t getting their share of tax breaks . After all , we all enjoy tax exemptions on our electrical and heating bills , food and children ' s clothing and prescription drugs . Maybe some of these exemptions still make sense .
But the tough reality for all of us is government can no longer afford to be quite as generous as it once was .
Hospital Over Capacity Affecting Patient Care in Saskatoon
Submitted by Larry Sigfusson
Overcrowded hospitals are a huge issue in our neighboring city of Saskatoon . In not having beds available , patients of overflowing wards are being transferred to other wards , which then results in unavailable beds for those needing immediate treatment . Specifically , Oncology patients cannot afford to have their beds ‘ bumped ’ due to the overflow because chemo treatments are vital . Nobody wants to see anyone suffering with delayed treatment for any medical condition , but Oncology patients cannot be put in other wards for both infection risks as well as the level of care it requires for specialized Oncology training for administration of the chemo treatments . It was just recently that Royal University Hospital ( RUH ) had issues with an overflow of patients due to a GI ( gastrointestinal ) outbreak in three wards .
On a personal note , my wife previously visited RUH in early November ; she was the one of two Oncology patients in her room of four patients . The next day she was transferred across the hall to another room ( original room was continuously monitored by a nurse ), a similar situation occurred . She was the only Oncology patient in that room as well . In talking with staff at both the Cancer Center and at the hospital this was acknowledged as a common occurrence .
Due to an ankle fracture her second round of this particular chemo treatment was delayed by two weeks to allow for recovery from the surgery . She was cleared to have chemo the week of December 11th ; however no bed was available on Monday , Tuesday , Wednesday or Thursday . On Thursday , I phoned the Cancer Center and advised that we still had not got a call for a bed and my wife ' s condition was deteriorating with loss of mobility and use of her right arm . I was advised that there was a bed shortage . We certainly did not expect any oncology patients to be " bumped ", but knowing there are other patients who are not oncology patients in that ward at times leaves a bad taste , since Cancer patients don ' t have any other option . A bed did become available Friday after my phone call and likely with the assistance of the Cancer Center , she was finally admitted for her chemo which requires roughly a 36 hour admission .
A spreadsheet is posted in RUH showing the three Saskatoon District Health Hospitals with the forecast of bed over capacity for the next several months . Over several months , the average for Royal University Hospital was 50 to 70 beds over capacity for every week . Other hospitals listed on the spreadsheet had similar numbers concerning over capacity . It is apparent that if one can forecast a bed shortage of approximately 50 beds per week at our primary critical care hospital over a period of several months , something is broken within our system .
Hospitals in Regina and Saskatoon are continuing to struggle with overcrowding . According to CBC news , The NDP ' s health critic Danielle Chartier said that there are dozens more patients than beds in Saskatoon hospitals . To cope , she says , a doctor at Royal University Hospital told her they are creating makeshift rooms to give patients some privacy . " They are building forts in hallways with IV poles and sheets - forts that my kid can make- and calling them ' pods ' and housing patients in the hallway ," Chartier said . " It ' s still hallway medicine even if you build a fort around them ." This issue will continue to grow if someone doesn ’ t find a way to keep minor emergencies out of ER ’ s , if we don ’ t upgrade facilities , and if we don ’ t work for the very much needed beds in our hospitals . Some patients simply cannot be asked to wait for their treatments . However unlikely it seems for immediate changes to be made , they simply cannot wait . It is time that this issue stops being ignored and considered a temporary situation when in fact it is not . No one deserves to have their health care compromised because there are no available beds for those who need treatments .
In no means does this hardship fall upon the hands of those who work in RUH , the Cancer Centre or surrounding hospitals for that matter . Staff are very caring and friendly and do their very best to administer to the patients under their care . The staff members at various locations are certainly not to blame for the over capacitated facilities . This being said , there is an issue all the same . The Provincial Department of Health and the Saskatoon Health Region are at fault with their planning and resourcing for our primary critical care hospital . We all know it needs over 500 million dollars ’ worth of work that has been put off just to bring it up to required maintenance , never mind expanding and allowing for more patients from our aging population . It appears to be much more politically correct to build new facilities rather than maintain
and expand the ones we do have . These are complex issues and have no easy solutions . There are many things that contribute to the overcrowding issue in hospitals including inadequate facilities , lack of beds , over use of hospitals by people who really should be seeing minor emergency or local doctors , and outbreaks of GI or infection . Perhaps having more spent on nursing and medical staff and less on the administration would benefit our province and our population better . It is time that these issues are not ignored or brushed aside and labelled as a ‘ temporary problem ’ because these issues are very real , and continue to take a toll on patients who need treatment .
Letter to the Editor
The Martensville Messenger welcomes letters to the editor for publication . Letters must be signed and a phone number and / or email address included so the writer ’ s identity can be verified . ALL letters are the opinion of the writer and NOT the Martensville Messenger . We reserve the right to edit letters for length , clarity or compliance with the current standards of public taste . Submit your letter to ssealey @ martensvillemessenger . ca or jottenbreit @ martensvillemessenger . ca or drop by the Martensville Messenger office at Bay # 7 - 301 Centennial Drive North .