Armed forces help not enough to combat overburdened hospitals in Sask.: physicians

Health-care workers in Saskatchewan hospitals and intensive care units shaken by COVID-19 case numbers will be relieved to hear they'll receive support from the Canadian military, the head of the Canadian Medical Association said — but it might only be a momentary break in the battle. 

Physicians and medical associations have lambasted provincial leadership over the past week for playing politics during the pandemic and for late or absent public health measures.

On Friday evening, federal politicians announced on Twitter that the Canadian Armed Forces were being deployed to assist in Saskatchewan hospitals. On Saturday, the Armed Forces confirmed to CBC News that up to six critical care nursing officers would be working in ICUs.

It's welcome support but without action from the government, like public health strategies, it's a surface solution, Smart says.

"Six nurses, that's really enough to staff two beds over two days. So it's certainly not going to solve the problem," Dr. Katherine Smart, the national medical association president, told CBC's David Common on Rosemary Barton Live.

"The root cause here is the number of COVID cases and the escalation of case counts in the province."

Physicians like Smart — and provincial chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab — have pointed to gathering limits as the next step to bending the curve. But Smart said the provincial government is "refusing to listen" to the advice from medical providers, nurses and the medical health officer. 

It's why she urged Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to make changes in a steadfast statement for citizens in the province who "deserve better."  

She said health-care professionals have been calling for action for weeks, only to watch the hospitals sink deeper into disarray.

"When you're at the point where you're needing to actually move your patients elsewhere, it tells you your system is collapsing," she said.

Smart, originally from Saskatchewan, said it's "heartbreaking" to see people at home feeling "helpless" while waiting for the government to take meaningful action. 

It didn't have to reach the point of calling for military help, sending patients across the country and cancelling surgeries, Dr. Hassan Masri, an ICU physician in Saskatoon and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, told Common.

He's been watching the pandemic's effect on hospitals unfold in front of him and has been outspoken about his frustration with the government's response. 

"This is something that was completely preventable and predictable: predictable because the lack of public health measures gets you here and preventable because public health measures would have prevented us from being here," Masri said.