Good morning. Thank you for coming. This morning we would like to introduce a concept that we think will address a serious issue that Wakaw and other communities that have or are facing hospital closures. But first I would like to briefly make a few introductions.

First with me here is Judy Junor, the NDP caucus health critic. I also note that Janice Bernier, the local NDP candidate here in Wakaw, is with us.

Wakaw has a hospital closure due to the shortage of physicians. Unfortunately, this is not a unique occurrence. The media recently reported 22 communities that are impacted by a shortage of doctors.

Last year, I asked Judy along with Andy Iwanchuk, MLA for Saskatoon Fairview, to do a close investigation into what was happening with health care in rural Saskatchewan. They visited 60 communities and over 80 health facilities.

They saw some successes – for example, primary health care clinics were working well in a number of towns. But they also heard about many situations like we see today in Wakaw.

We have a shortage of physicians in the province and when the physicians leave, it often forces hospital closures. Now, it’s very inconvenient when you have to travel a long way to a doctor, but the fact of the matter is, it’s downright terrifying if you don’t have health care close by in an emergency. And that’s what the town of Wakaw faces... it’s what the people in too many Saskatchewan communities face.

And communities are so worried about this that they even get into bidding wars over physicians – pitting community against community. It is a desperate situation in a province that is known for our ability to work together to find solutions.

Judy and Andy and I and others on the team talked about this and as a result, we started to seek out options. We believe we have one that we would like to share with you today – the Community Access Hospital.

I’ll ask Judy to provide some details.

Judy Junor's speech

Thank you Judy. As Judy said, this is an option. There are various models of a somewhat similar nature working in other provinces and in other jurisdictions around the world. But this is an approach that is uniquely Saskatchewan.

We’re not proposing it as a replacement for physicians. We are still committed to stronger recruitment and retention initiatives for physicians.

Rather, the Community Access Hospital is a supplementary approach. It’s a way to ensure that people continue to have health and emergency services where they need them and when they need them.

As I think most people here would like to have a chance to chat, I suggest we don’t have a formal question and answer period. Judy and I will be happy to answer any questions members of the media might have or for that matter, that anyone else might have.