REGINA - Allegations of racism are among the items that will be part of review into the Regina hospital environment.
The province confirmed Monday in a news release that the review will happen into improving the working conditions in Regina hospitals. The Ministry of Health has announced two medical consultants, one a physician from Ontario and the other from Nova Scotia, will conduct the independent external review of the Regina hospital environment.
According to the province’s news release, the consultants plan to do virtual interviews with leaders from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the College of Medicine and members of the local medical community to understand challenges and experiences faced by those working in Regina hospitals.
In the news release Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill had stated that they were “aware of alleged incidents of conflict and reports of a lack of collegiality and professionalism that occurred between physicians in Regina hospitals. We take these allegations seriously and are committed to addressing them in a way that reinforces our dedication to continue making Regina hospitals a great place to work."
In speaking to reporters later that day, Cockrill elaborated on that statement and used the word “racism” to describe what they would be looking at.
“I don't want to get into too much of specifics. I know, you know, certainly there's been allegations of racism, as one example, you know, in the physician community,” Cockrill said.
“Over the last number of years, certainly that's something that we take very seriously, again, in terms of making sure that the province and specifically the capital city here is a positive place to recruit, whether it be family physicians or specialists, too. So, again, I think it's important that we're doing a review and ensuring that some of these issues are addressed.”
Cockrill added that since being in the health portfolio, he had had a chance to speak a number of times to Dr. Andre Grobler, president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association. Cockrill said the SMA “also understand that there are issues and, you know, certainly on behalf of their members, they want to see issues addressed.”
“And so this is a good opportunity for the Ministry of Health, again, to take a closer look, understand what the issues are, and then start to come up with some solutions on how to address those.”
As for why this issue is not being addressed through the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Cockrill acknowledged that body will investigate individual cases, and indicated the province would be open to working with the College. But this issue was of wider interest, he said.
“This is important enough that the Ministry of Health would like to move forward with its own review,” Cockrill said. He also emphasized to reporters this was a review, not an investigation.
The issue of racism in Regina hospitals has been raised at the Legislature before. Last November in Question Period, NDP MLA for Regina Coronation Park Noor Burki brought up concerns about ten doctors trained in Africa and east Asia who had “experienced racism, discrimination from the hospital leadership,” according to the account in Hansard. He noted the individuals had filed a complaint with the Sask. Human Rights Commission on Oct. 9, 2023.
In response, then-Minister of Health Everett Hindley responded there was “absolutely no room for racism in health care” and that they took the concerns “very, very seriously.” He also said there had been discussions with senior leadership of the SHA and Ministry of Health, and that the SHA would be looking into those allegations.
Speaking to reporters Monday, NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat gave her thoughts about the independent review, and pointed to the issue having been raised in the Legislature before by her party.
“Racism in any of our healthcare facilities is completely unacceptable. I think these concerns need to be taken very seriously,” Mowat said.
“And we raised these issues a year ago. And so, you know, we need to see swift action when complaints like this are taking place. We need a thorough investigation into what has taken place there. And, you know, we know that these issues can also impact recruitment and retention of other healthcare workers. You know, this is not what we want to be known for. So we need to make sure that it's dealt with as quickly as possible.”
