Planned Parenthood Regina cannot keep up with demand during pandemic
CBC
The non-profit sexual health charity Planned Parenthood Regina has had to cut back appointments and services during the pandemic due to funding and staffing cuts despite growing demand from the public.
The clinic, which received at least 2,470 calls in the last few months, can't keep up with requests, and Taryn Wahl, the education coordinator, said she's concerned vulnerable people won't be able to access sexual health interventions.
"We do hear from some of the folks who end up going to the E.R. for issues related to sexual health and it shouldn't be that way," Wahl said.
Planned Parenthood provides accessible contraceptive and sexual health programs and services to the city and south Saskatchewan community with a priority focus on youth, LGBTQ+ and those without health insurance. People can access the sexual health clinic without a health card.
Without early intervention or contraceptives, Wahl said the clinic may see even more calls regarding people having positive STI diagnosis or unplanned pregnancies.
And the organization is not alone.
The non-profit Saskatoon Sexual Health, which also provides sexual and reproductive health services, has faced similar demands.
The organization saw an 89 per cent increase in demand from April to October compared with the same period a year earlier, said Heather Hale, executive director of Saskatoon Sexual Health.
"We do know from experience that in times of public health or humanitarian crisis, sexual health or human reproductive health needs don't go down, they actually go up," Hale said.
"This has also been compounded by the increasing rates of STIs [sexually transmitted infections] in the province. So certainly that kind of exacerbates the challenges of meeting a need in a province where we face really poor outcomes directly related to sexual health."
Both said Saskatchewan has the highest provincial rate of HIV infections and chlamydia, the second-highest provincial rate of gonorrhea and high rates of syphilis. They added the province also has high provincial rates of adolescent pregnancy and one of the highest rates of sexual violence in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2019 Saskatchewan had more than double the national average of HIV diagnosis at 16.9 per 100,000 population.
Despite that, the pandemic and a lack of funding caused Planned Parenthood Regina to lose one part-time registered nurse and one part-time nurse practitioner, dropping medical staff to only two nurses, Wahl said.
One registered nurse remains to carry out STI test referrals and contraception consultations and there is one nurse practitioner to do pap smear tests, IUD insertions, STI visual exams and prescribe birth control.
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