We deserve better access to health care

Dear Editor

In 2022, Saskatchewan Health removed the available physicians page from their website. Access to local physicians has been greatly reduced since 2012, and we are now facing a population health crisis.

Lack of medical care results in: delayed diagnosis of chronic diseases; increased emergency room waiting times; limited access to primary physicians for prescriptions; opiate addictions for people waiting for surgeries for relief of painful physical ailments; delayed preventative scans.

Poorer health outcomes can be expected, and we do not deserve to watch our health stats plummet. Poorer health outcomes result in poor economic performance e.g. lost work hours, illness, increased injury risk.

The federal and provincial governments have reached agreements and money is available to recruit more primary care physicians for local clinics. We need doctors now. Residents can call the Battleford’s MLA Hon. Jeremy Cockrill at 306 441 5159 or office@ jeremycockrill.ca

Keltie Paul, MA North Battleford