Sask. to receive almost $62M from Ottawa to cut through surgical backlog
CBC
Saskatchewan is set to receive almost $62 million from the federal government to help clear its backlog of tens of thousands of surgeries.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced Friday that Ottawa will send another $2 billion to provinces and territories, to be distributed equally per capita. Saskatchewan's cut will be about $61.7 million.
Duclos also signalled that the federal government is willing to permanently increase the health transfer moving forward, a move that would answer a perennial demand by premiers, who want Ottawa's share of health-care spending to grow to 35 per cent from the current 22 per cent.
Saskatchewan's Health Minister Paul Merriman said he found out about the federal cash on Friday morning — days after the province tabled its budget, adding that the money has to be used within 12 months.
"So that gives us some money to free up to do some other initiatives that we can within the surgical capacity," Merriman told reporters on Monday.
"I need to be able to talk to the federal government to see if there's options to be able to purchase equipment, maybe gear up a couple other operating theatres in the smaller centres around the province."
He also said he will speak to provincial Finance Minister Donna Harpauer to see if it's possible to move funds allocated for surgery to other areas within the health-care system.
Merriman said he welcomes the one-time payment from the feds but cautioned, "if there's more money, that doesn't necessarily mean we can do more surgeries."
Performing additional surgeries hinges on there being enough surgeons and support staff, Merriman said.
"I want to emphasize that we are not going to catch up on our surgical backlog in 12 months," he told reporters on Monday.
More than 35,000 people in Saskatchewan are on the wait-list for surgery, Merriman said, though he anticipates the true number is higher because of people who have not been able to see their general physicians or a specialist for consultation, and therefore haven't been logged into the system yet.
The federal government announced $4 billion in funding to clear backlogs last year. It said it's chipping in more now because the problem has only gotten worse since the onset of the Omicron wave of the pandemic.
In Saskatchewan's budget, released last week, the province said it will spend $21.6 million to perform an additional 7,000 surgeries over the next year.
The province is hoping to cut through its pandemic backlog by 2025 and get to a three-month surgical wait time by 2030.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Dallin Beaumier did everything right.
A lighthouse keeper's memoir has gotten the comic book treatment with a new series in a massive newspaper south of the border.
Halifax Pride kicks off next week and dozens of events are scheduled across the city, including the Pride parade on Saturday.
Thirty delicately carved monarch butterflies greet walkers and cyclists who cross Fredericton's Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge, which spans the Saint John River.
Having just moved into his new apartment in June, Charles Emond had barely finished unpacking his belongings when he was told by the Montreal fire department last Friday to pack up and get out.
A natural remedy that has previously helped counter oil spills will be too slow to "do any useful work" if there's a spill in the Canadian Arctic, increasing chances of "catastrophic" harm, researchers say.
Sometimes the thought goes through Jason Hofley's mind that it would be easier to go back to drug dealing. Before he was busted for charges that included firearms and possession of drugs a few years ago, he had his children with him.
Fifty years after Steven Spielberg's Jaws set the template for the Hollywood summer blockbuster movie, the spectre of a great white shark attack still looms over anyone who goes swimming in the sea.
Construction related to Hamilton's Light Rail Transit (LRT) project will see the full closure of a major downtown intersection for three days next week.
A 60-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder after a woman who was reported missing was found dead near Highway 401 in Pickering days later, Toronto police say.
CBC's Island Morning is launching a new summer feature, speaking to different tour guides around Prince Edward Island about the tours they give and why you should take them.
As federal dental care expands to cover most uninsured Canadians, providers say some procedures are being bogged down by paperwork and processing delays.
Chad Anderson had travelled 90 minutes from his farm near Cremona, Alta., to bend the premier's ear, but it was starting to look futile.