(Goodwill Manor - Duck Lake & District Nursing Home/Facebook)

By Susan McNeil

Health Care

Lack of doctors in Duck Lake forces 1,000 residents to go elsewhere

May 9, 2024 | 11:56 AM

A lack of doctors in Duck Lake is forcing about 1,000 people to travel to other communities like Prince Albert or Saskatoon to get health care, said the NDP in the Legislature Thursday morning.

MLA Jared Clarke (Regina–Walsh Acres) introduced the topic as a petition on Thursday morning, calling the province to do something immediately.

“The shortage of doctors is impacting local clinics and long-term care homes with some unable to provide the level of care that they have historically been able to provide,” said Clarke.

To make their point, Duck Lake Mayor Bonnie Guigon, Reeve Remi Martin and Chief Edwin Ananas of the Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation all attended the sitting of the legislature.

The nearest hospital is in Rosthern but the lack of local care has led to the closure of one-third of the beds in the long-term care home and an uptick in people falling back into addiction.

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A doctor is needed to prescribe opioid agonists (methadone) for people overcoming addiction. Several people have regressed, said the NDP in a news release issued at the start of the morning sitting.

“Healthcare is the heart of every community. Residents shouldn’t have to drive hours, only to be turned away because the ER in the next community is also closed. It’s time for a government that will treat this like the crisis it truly is.”

The people travelling from Duck Lake or Beardy’s that go to Rosthern have frequently been met with closures as well.

The eight beds that are closed at the Duck Lake Nursing Home represent one-third of the available beds.

READ MORE: In 2022, a sunroom was added to Goodwill Manor in Duck Lake.

“Folks should be able to access healthcare when and where they need it. We need a real plan that works with communities to meet their local needs,” Clarke said.

Beck and Clarke also pointed out that the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses said that staff shortages put patients at risk.

According to a survey of their members, 58 per cent of nurses are thinking about leaving the Saskatchewan health care system altogether.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com