Regina – A group known as the Concerned Citizens of Wakaw joined with SEIU-West (Service Employees International Union) members today and travelled to Regina to tell the Minister of Health that the Wakaw Hospital needs to be re-opened. The Wakaw Hospital has been closed since the end of March due to a physician shortage and area residents are concerned that a lengthy closure will result in more health professionals leaving the area.
“Our community places a high value on keeping our hospital open,” said Paul Danis, a member of the Concerned Citizens group. “Given that the Minister of Health chose not to attend either of our large community meetings to discuss potential solutions, despite being invited, we decided to bring our message directly to him here at the Legislature. We are worried about the implications of this ongoing closure, especially if existing Wakaw Hospital employees are issued layoff notices which would serve as yet another obstacle to re-opening our hospital. We need the provincial government to demonstrate some leadership on this file.”
Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West, agreed that an indefinite closure could force many hospital employees to leave the Wakaw area to find alternate work and joined the Concerned Citizens group in calling for the Minister of Health to take immediate action. SEIU-West, has been working with our members and the community group in an effort to put forward alternate strategies to the Saskatoon Health Region.
“The Wakaw Hospital is important to area residents and SEIU-West is committed to working with the community to re-open that hospital to ensure provision of important health care services in that region,” Cape said. “While the community has held public meetings and we have taken the ideas from those meetings forward in our discussions with the Saskatoon Health Region, it’s clear that we will need leadership from the Sask Party government in order to re-open the Wakaw Hospital. The longer the hospital remains closed, the more challenging it will be to re-open it. Community members and health care providers deserve better and that’s why we’ve come to the Legislature today.”
SEIU-West represents approximately eleven thousand health care providers across the province. They include special care aides, licensed practical nurses, diagnostic and therapeutic technologists, food services workers, laundry, housekeeping and activity personnel, maintenance, sterile processing workers, operating room technologists, maintenance personnel, and administrative and clerical staff, among others.
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Christine Miller, Communications Coordinator – 306.652.1011 ext. 2250
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Media Release: Wakaw & Community Takes Their Concerns to the Health Minister
