Saskatchewan’s health care system will undergo a major change in 2017, as the government announced they will consolidate the 12 health regions into one provincial health authority, with one appointed board to govern it.
If this scenario seems familiar at all, that would be because over the years Saskatchewan has been making health regions bigger and bigger.
Prior to 1992, health care facilities were for the most part governed by local boards, until the province created 32 regional health authorities. Weyburn’s facilities came under the South Central Health District. Then, in 2002, the 32 health districts were made larger with the creation of the current system of 12 regional health authorities, including the Sun Country Health Region.
Now, not to be outdone, Saskatchewan will make the ultimate move and consolidate the 12 regions into one region for the entire province, and anticipate making this official by the fall.
The first lesson about making districts and regions bigger seems to get ignored each time this exercise takes place, namely that it does not necessarily make health care services better, just more cumbersome.
The move to one provincial authority raises a great number of concerns, with no guarantee whatsoever that any of these concerns will be dealt with.
Among the many concerns over this “superboard” as one of the health care unions has dubbed it are the concerns and input of local communities in regards to their local facilities. In such a mammoth board, the fear of anyone outside of Regina and Saskatoon is whether they will ever be heard, since these centres take up a fairly large chunk of the provincial health budget.
The unwieldy size of this authority leads one to wonder how any local issues of service or health quality can be addressed, as such issues will arise from all corners of the province.
It was also interesting to note the advisory panel wants current legislation to be reviewed with a view to ensuring “appropriate accountability” in the system. There will be no accountability, for the simple reason the board members will be appointed and not elected, and the appointed members are accountable to no one but the minister who appointed them. There are many more questions than answers with this proposal, and the underlying question is will the residents of Saskatchewan continue to get the health care service they both need and want? — Greg Nikkel
