Sask. doctor says he lost sleep over decision to take Ontario job
Saskatoon intensive care physician Dr. Hassan Masri says he has taken a leadership role in Ontario.
"This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made and I certainly did lose sleep over it," he said in social media posts.
In a response to a comment to his Facebook post, he said that "50% of this decision was indirectly forced upon me by a failed leader like (Premier) Scott Moe. A leader that had the time to call the anti-vaccine and anti-mask mandate leader but never had a chance to listen to my private and public messages and pleas despite endless attempts to speak to him directly and privately."
He said the last straw was Moe and Health Minister Paul Merriman's decision not to fund Prairie Harm Reduction.
"Instead of being in a system that reduces harm and looks out for people I now can watch people overdose and die from the window of my hospital’s ICU. This leader will drain this province of all those who wish to see change. I am not the first to leave and there are many who have left and some who will be leaving silently in the weeks to come."
During Question Period at the Legislature, the NDP addressed Masri's decision.
“Does the Premier recognize his choices are chasing away Saskatchewan doctors? We’re losing our best and our brightest,” said NDP Leader Ryan Meili.
Moe recognized Masri's departure and noted the need to fill healthcare openings in the province.
“You need to go beyond just filling those positions and adding additional positions across the board," Moe said.
Masri joins Dr. Kevin Wasko, a former Swift Current emergency department doctor and executive with the Saskatchewan Health Authority who left leaving his senior role to work in Ontario earlier this year.
Wasko said at the time that "there are frustrations when some clinical or medical advice" isn’t implemented by government.
The Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) says it’s always regrettable when doctors leave the province.
The SMA conducted an online survey in February which drew almost 400 responses, with nearly 49 per cent saying their mental health was worse than prior to the pandemic and 17 per cent saying it was much worse.
In addition, 54 per cent planned to reduce their clinical hours over the next two years.
“There are clear indications that physicians in the province are tired they're burning out,” SMA President Dr. John Gjevre told CTV News.
“The pandemic has been very stressful on physicians but also the entire population and there is a need for more mental health resources."
Masri says he will continue to work in Saskatchewan but on a much smaller scale.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Police will not be charged in death of Indigenous man in B.C., mother says
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021, according to the man's mother.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.