REGINA — Lanigan mayor Tony Mycock is calling on the provincial ministry of health to answer questions about the reopening of the community’s local hospital, which has been closed for nearly two years.
Mycock travelled to the legislative building in Regina on April 6 to issue his call, where he said he hopes to receive a meeting with the health ministers to begin discussion.
“It’s just the uncertainty,” said Mycock. “I think it's a concern to all of us, and it’s a worry.”
Lanigan Hospital has been closed for health and emergency services since May 2020, and Mycock said the health authority has made no moves to reopen the facility despite repeated requests from residents.
The health authority first stopped operations as a temporary COVID-19 safety action, as the hospital shares a building with the community’s long-term care home.
Now, Mycock said Saskatchewan Health Authority officials are telling Lanigan town council that the hospital has remained closed due to staffing shortages.
“I understand that [during COVID],” said Mycock. “But our premier is saying we need to move on, so let’s move on.”
Since the hospital’s closure, residents of Lanigan and the surrounding towns of Drake, Nokomis and Jansen have been travelling at least half an hour to Humboldt, or over an hour to Saskatoon, to access medical services.
This includes emergency care, as well as all health services outside of blood or lab work.
“We can’t even go get a tetanus shot,” said Mycock. “If we need stitches, or anything like that, we can’t access that.”
Residents are frustrated, said Mycock, as the closure is a large disruption for many and the trickle of information coming from health officials has done little to alleviate concerns.
Long emergency room wait times are also becoming very common at Humboldt District Hospital, as residents are diverted to the facility.
Mycock said the loss of services is potentially a safety hazard, for not only local residents but also those working at nearby industrial facilities, like the incoming BHP and Nutrien mines.
A lack of hospital services may also become a population buster for the town, he added.
“We’re looking to have an increasing population, and we need a hospital,” said Mycock. “We could be losing people that will go to bigger centres to have access to healthcare.”
He also expressed frustration that the two doctors currently located in Lanigan, recruited as directed by SHA officials, are now being underutilized.
“We’ve suggested solutions,” said Mycock. “We’ve suggested having a triage in the [local medical] clinic so they can perform some procedures, and we’ve gotten nowhere.”
Local nurses have expressed interest in returning to work at Lanigan Hospital, and the municipal council has said it is prepared to work collaboratively to reopen the medical centre’s doors.
Mycock, on behalf of the town of Lanigan, submitted a letter to the provincial government requesting an update on a reopening plan last April.
He followed up with another letter this week, directed to MLA for Humboldt-Watrous Donna Harpauer, Health Minister Paul Merriman and Minister of Rural and Remote Health Everett Hindley.
Mycock said his attempts to make contact with the Ministry of Health to discuss reopening the hospital have so far gone unanswered.
SHA officials for the region have also been “running into roadblocks” as well, said Mycock, prompting his more public bid for answers.
Next steps must come from the ministry of health, said Mycock.
“I just want to have a meeting with the people that make the decisions,” said Mycock. “We’re willing, as a town and surrounding communities, to work together but we need dialogue.”
Opposition health critic Vicki Mowat said that the situation Lanigan is facing is one many rural municipalities are also experiencing.
“It’s completely unfair that these are being treated as one-off situations, where each individual community needs to meet with the SHA to say, ‘here are our concerns’,” said Mowat.
She reiterated calls for the provincial government to reopen rural emergency services, and to follow through with promises to increase recruitment and retention of health care workers in order to alleviate staffing pressures being felt across Saskatchewan.
