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By Kenneth Cheung

HEALTHCARE CRISIS

‘This is just unacceptable’: Beauval health centre 17-day closure sparks rural healthcare concerns

Jan 23, 2025 | 2:10 PM

The rural northern community of Beauval, about three hours northwest of Prince Albert, is calling on the provincial government after its health care centre was forced to close its doors for 17 consecutive days due to a shortage of nurses.

Rick Laliberte, the mayor of Beauval, said that since the health centre was established around the 1980s, it has only had two registered nurses who regularly provide services for the village and all the surrounding First Nations. The population is estimated to be around 3,000 to 4,000 people from across English River, Canoe Lake, Cold Bay, and other nearby communities.

“This is a major highway [165] that runs through here, and so many emergencies happen on these highways. These two nurses have been called upon to respond for first responders,” he added.

“Without them, there’s no certainty, and people are losing trust in the system.”

Laliberte called the situation disheartening.

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This isn’t the first time the health centre has faced prolonged closure; Athabasca MLA Leroy Laliberte of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (Sask NDP) said it happens often.

“It happened during the election [2024 October]. It happened last summer, and it’s been happening for years,” Leroy said.

Rick went on to note that the recent closure is jeopardizing residents’ basic needs, citing nearby mine workers who can’t access healthcare until they leave the area.

“They’re on two-week shifts, and because there’s no health services up in the mines, they’ll have to deal with their health issues when they come out. So, here’s a whole shift that none of our workers are going to have access to, dealing with their prescription needs or could be ailments.”

Residents were forced to travel an hour or more to access basic healthcare services in larger centers like Meadow Lake and Saskatoon or even as far as Lloydminster.

“If you’re having somebody that’s very sick, and it is even dangerous for them to be travelling for hours to the South in the time of an emergency, this is crazy,” Leroy added.

To shed light on this ongoing reality, Leroy issued a statement on Tuesday criticizing the provincial government for its healthcare system vows in rural communities.

“This is just unacceptable,” he said. “It is happening throughout the Northwest where their clinics were being disrupted because they didn’t have any nurses.”

In the statement, he noted that “after 17 years of the Saskatchewan Party, Saskatchewan is ranked last in Canada on healthcare.”

“Since Scott Moe took office, Saskatchewan has lost 24 per cent of our rural and remote registered nurses, going from 2,234 in 2018 to 1,708 in the most recent study,” he stated.

Leroy referred to the new Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) data that Shadow Minister of Health Vicki Mowat spoke of on Wednesday.

The report also shows that compared to other provinces in Canada, which average 243 physicians and 123 specialists, Saskatchewan has only 221 physicians and 103 specialists.

Saskatchewan Health Authority and Ministry of Health’s response

Regarding the closure in Beauval, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Ministry of Health sent meadowlakeNOW a statement noting that they are “committed to restoring health care services in communities that are experiencing temporary service disruptions due to staffing challenges as soon as possible.”

“Every jurisdiction in Canada is seeing increased demand for health care services. The Government of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Health Authority, and Saskatchewan Health Recruitment Agency are taking action to address the needs of patients.”

They went on to cite the annual reports of the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan, highlighting that the number of registered nurses (RNs) in Saskatchewan increased from 2019 to 2023.

“In 2023, Saskatchewan’s number of regulated nursing per capita (1,321 nurses per 100,000 population) was higher than the national rate (1,104 nurses per 100,000) and the highest of the western provinces.”

As per the statement, SHA has added 250 new part-time to full-time positions in 51 rural and remote locations at risk of service disruptions.

“This includes nurses, paramedics, technologists and other staff members in communities throughout the province. Additional position enhancements are currently underway to further support this work,” they stated.

—

-With files paNOW’s Nigel Maxwell

Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com