'They don't seem to care': Sask. dialysis patient turned away from Manitoba hospital

A Saskatchewan woman who lives near the Manitoba border has been stuck in Saskatoon for nearly four months because the hospital closest to her home won’t provide her dialysis.

“I cry every day that I can’t hold my grandson. I cry after our video calls. One of his last things he always says, to me is ‘gramma I love you. I miss you, come home,’” Maureen McBratney told CTV News.

The Flin Flon General Hospital, just 20 minutes from McBratney’s Denare Beach home across the Manitoba border, was the first point of care when her kidneys failed.

“I was airlifted out of the Flin Flon General Hospital in complete kidney failure. They saved my life,” she said.

That was in June. Since then, her family has been fighting to get her dialysis treatment moved back to Flin Flon General, but without a Manitoba health card, they won’t take her.

“The nearest unit for me is literally a 20-minute drive. I can’t drive 20 minutes to get a lifesaving procedure done because of a border issue,” she says.

Her son and daughter have been advocating for their mom. Her daughter Paige Baschuk has been sending constant emails to government and health officials in both provinces.

At times, she says it feels like their story isn’t even being understood completely.

“They said to me ‘you mean your mom is not relocating to Manitoba?’ No, she lives in Saskatchewan. They said ‘I’m sorry we can’t help you,’” Baschuk told CTV News.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) told CTV News in an email that the two provinces have a separate agreement in place for patient access to the Flin Flon Hospital, once Manitoba admits them to the program.

The SHA said it’s currently working with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, Manitoba Northern Regional Health Authority and Manitoba’s renal program to discuss Saskatchewan residents accessing hemodialysis care at the Flin Flon General Hospital.

Manitoba Shared Health and Northern Health Region told CTV News that current regulations only tend to cover emergency care for out-of-province residents.

“We understand that patients want to get care close to home. Current regulations govern how and when provincial health care can be delivered to patients in another province and is mostly limited to emergencies and not on-going care.”

They said they’re looking to explore future collaboration with Saskatchewan.

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It’s positive news for McBratney and her family, but in the meantime, the expense of being away from home is chipping away at their life savings.

“Gas, travel, rent, food, is coming out of our pocket and hydro and everything else on our residence on Denare Beach,” McBratney’s husband Greg told CTV News.

The 62-year-old dialysis patient’s life is on hold.

“It’s the emotional toll that gets us. That’s the worst part.”

The family hopes the newly elected leadership in Manitoba will mean something changes.

“I really want to come home, but I can’t. I have to stay here until they fix this,” she tells her grandson during phone calls.

With Christmas on the horizon, frustration is growing over an issue that seems little more than red tape to the family.

“Some person or some board can affect somebody’s life in someway, and they don’t seem to care,” Greg said.