Saskatoon mom says province's failure to avoid COVID-19 surge means twins aren't getting care
A Saskatoon mom is frustrated her baby twins aren't getting the care they need because of the provincial health care system's current COVID-19 gridlock — which she believes was preventable.
“We can see around the country and around the world where there are certain mandates in place or had we treated this a little differently, we wouldn't be at this point,” Melissa Bachmeier said.
In September, Saskatchewan started dialling back health care services to free up resources to treat a soaring number of COVID-19 patients.
“We wouldn't be to the point where everything needs to shut down again, and our hospitals are completely overwhelmed.”
Two of her kids, twins Joe and Jennifer, have Down syndrome and were born prematurely.
The current COVID-19 overload inside Saskatchewan’s healthcare system means their appointments with therapists have been cancelled.
“They've been redeployed because our medical system needs the support,” she said.
“I felt so horrible for the (centre's) coordinator, like she sounded so defeated that this is something that they have to do," Bachmeier said.
"Obviously, it's not something they want to do, they want to be here and provide the services and the situation in our province is making it so that they can't and there's nothing else we can do.”
In a statement, the Saskatchewan Health Authority acknowledged that skilled and trained staff, including some at the Alvin Buckwold Center, would be redeployed to attempt to meet the demand of critical areas of the system.
“The decision to slow down services has not been taken lightly, and is difficult for everyone, including our health care providers,” the statement said.
“The time frame for the service slowdowns is dependent on how quickly we can decrease COVID-19 case numbers, hospitalizations and ICU admissions. This is why we are encouraging all Saskatchewan residents to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible to do so.”
When asked for a response, the Ministry of Health deferred to the SHA statement.
Bachmeier says her twins require occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists, and without those services, they may not develop properly.
Her daughter Jennifer needed open heart surgery at just five months old to fix two congenital heart defects and isn’t able to sit up or hold her head up on her own at eight months old.
“She's gone through more things in eight months of life than a lot of people go through medically ever,” said Bachmaier. “She's spent over 100 days in hospital, she had a massive open heart surgery where they repaired two defects.”
“We couldn't put her on her chest so that also delayed her development. And she's done all of this, six weeks premature, 82 days in NICU, open-heart surgery. She's still managing to figure some of these things out on her own, but it's really hard to think how far she could be if she had access to these services.”
Bachmeier says she understands the impact the pandemic is having on the provincial government’s ability to provide services, but can only imagine the frustration of parents with more medically fragile children.
“(The provincial government is) so overwhelmed with those issues that it's hard to even think that this is a blip on their radar right now,” she said.
“But for some of us, this is kind of the whole thing, right? This isn't a blip on our radar. This is our lives right now.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.