The provincial NDP is calling on the Saskatchewan government to invest more into health care infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters outside St. Paul’s Hospital Thursday morning, NDP Leader Ryan Meili said that according to a Freedom of Information Request, poor funding from the SaskParty government has left some St. Paul’s workers in an interesting working environment.
“It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so ridiculous, one of the stories that really stood out here at St. Paul’s is the floors in one of the offices are slopping so much that the staff was complaining about getting sore arms from having to hold on to their desks so they didn’t roll away from them.”
Meili says the FOI also found that there are a number of leaks at the two hospitals and specifically at RUH, there have been challenges with heat controls.
According to the SaskParty’s 2013 health facility assessment, RUH needs $140 million dollars worth of repairs and St. Paul’s needs $94 million dollars worth. Meili says “It’s time for this government (SaskParty) to make those significant investments.”
A news release from the NDP says the government’s planned investment in health infrastructure has plummeted 60 per cent since 2015-2016, resulting in the health association indicating their assets are in need of $3.3 billion dollars of repairs.
The NDP Leader adds repairing the hospitals would create an opportunity to put more Saskatchewan people to work by hiring local companies to conduct the repairs.
If elected in October, Meili says his government will invest significantly in addressing health care infrastructure.
In terms of exact numbers, Meili says they’ll be releasing their numbers in the near future as platform time rolls around for the 2020 provincial election.
(CJWW)
