Thursday, April 15, 2021
VOLUME 3 I ISSUE 42
MERIDIANSOURCE.CA
Richer drills into border health woes GEOFF LEE
WRITER
.................................. Meet local health system detective and critic Paul Richer. Richer is the volunteer chair of the Lloydminster and District Health Advisory Council (LDHAC) board and has uncovered faults in the bi-provincial health care system and what needs fixing. Richer told fellow members of the Rotary Club of Lloydminster via Zoom on Monday, it may be a case of the advisory committee needing to be the proverbial squeaky wheel to get the grease. He referenced a recent car crashing through the front door of Lloydminster Hospital as one way to get on with a list of $2.2 million of upgrades previously funded by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health. “I would suggest sometimes you can get renovation by running through the front doors,” said Richer sarcastically. Richer has been the chair for more than a year and urges Rotari-
ans to speak up on the LDHAC Facebook page to get the attention of both provincial health ministries. “I call on the folks that are listening in and the community at large, my work and this work is not going to be enough. These bureaucrats are very expert at delaying things,” said Richer. He listed local health priorities as being medical file sharing, mental health and addictions, Lloydminster Hospital upgrades, EMS ambulance and dialysis relocation. Another issue is an amended Memorandum of Agreement between the two provincial health ministries yet to be signed in Lloydminster. “When two ministers do come to Lloydminster, this document has little impact other than the fact we’ll get two health ministers in the same room in Lloydminster,” concluded Richer. He says overall, there are too many inequities and foot-dragging, the way both provinces
deal with the issues starting with medical file sharing. “Local tests and imaging are still not accepted in neighbouring provinces, causing people a delay in services and tests to be done in a different city,” said Richer. He says people have to have their medical files in the trunk of their car when they go see a doctor in a different province. “With today’s technology, it’s bloody ridiculous,” said Richer, noting Alberta has done its part by enacting Bill 46 with help from Rotary’s MLA Garth Rowswell while they wait on Saskatchewan to legislate change. “In this electronic age, it’s all hogwash. We should have no trouble sharing files, especially on approval of the patient,” said Richer. On the mental health and addictions file, Richer points out Lloydminster is the only city of its size in all of Alberta and all of Saskatchewan that does not have stabilization beds. He says the Thorpe Recovery Centre
recently received a fund boost from Alberta while Saskatchewan has not upped its funding support for the past eight years. “That’s on the heels of Saskatchewan topping up another $33 million last year for mental health and addictions. Lloydminster and the Thorpe got zero,” said Richer. “This region, after years of Project Sunrise, got zero.” Richer noted in his opening remarks some of the inequities resulting from the fact Alberta has a health budget of $33 billion a year compared to $6.5 billion for Saskatchewan. “So two vastly different size organizations and we’re in the middle, so I think you know where I’m heading,” said Richer. “When I took on this role, I was determined money’s not an issue, getting the money is the issue, but the money is there.” Richer suggested it doesn’t help Lloyd that Andrew McClatchy, vice president of Integrated Northern Health, cover-
Lloydminster and District Health Advisory Council board chair Paul Richer. Photo courtesy Nicole Noyce Photography ing a huge area, resides in Prince Albert when his predecessor, David Fan, lived closer in North Battleford. Richer says there’s also been some delays on promised upgrades to the hospital, citing $500,000 for exterior brick replacement and $150,000 for repaving the parking lots as examples. “If we say nothing and d o n’t g e t u p together we’re going to keep on getting more of the same,” said Richer,
including inequities with EMS ambulance and no resolution in sight on the dialysis file. “All these things can be solved, and if I didn’t paint the picture properly, we’re not getting the fair share either from the eyes of Alberta or the eyes of Saskatchewan,” said Richer. “We’re not asking for more. We’re asking for equality. If we had equal we’d be great, a lot better.