'They think we are worthless': Saskatoon doctor plans to leave province after Moe rejects COVID-19 measures
A Saskatoon family physician says she’s looking for work outside of the province, citing the government’s lack of implementing COVID-19 restrictions.
Dr. Carla Holinaty was born and raised in Saskatchewan, has been a physician for nine years and began thinking about moving in the late summer.
In a Twitter post Monday, she said “our government has made it clear they think we are worthless.”
“I think this week especially with a second letter coming from our medical health officers that seem to again be completely ignored, that was really the tipping point for me I think,” Holinaty told CTV News.
On Friday, 21 medical health officers (MHO), who all work for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, issued a letter to Health Minister Paul Merriman, asking for additional health measures. It’s the second letter the MHOs have penned to the province.
Premier Scott Moe said Monday he would not bring additional public health measures because it takes away from people’s personal freedoms.
“To watch that just be sort of cast away and rejected outright, it was just so disheartening,” Holinaty said.
Holinaty says she knows other doctors who are also looking for work elsewhere and some who have already left.
Working in family medicine, Holinaty says she sees the impacts of the stretched health care system even though she doesn’t directly work with them.
“We see those patients when they come to us to stress that their surgery has been canceled, we deal with the phone calls from parents who are frantic that their chronically ill kid has now lost access to their therapy,” she said.
“All of the fallout that’s happening is the world that we live in every single day.”
If doctors choose to leave the province, including herself, Holinaty says the loss will be felt by patients.
“Because they’re the people who’ve been feeling the losses from all of the other problems in the healthcare system that we’ve been seeing so far. They’re the people bearing the burden of the system collapsing around us.”
Holinaty says if the province were to take the letter from the medical health officers seriously and implement the measures suggested, she would consider staying.
Dr. Eben Strydom, president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association, says this is the first time he’s heard of physicians wanting to leave the province.
“I think It’s incredibly sad to hear that physicians feel that way under these circumstances where we need every physician, it’s been a long haul,” Strydom told CTV News.
He added that if physicians choose to leave, it could lead to another crisis within the healthcare system.
“It’s certainly something we worry about. Being valued in your work, doesn’t matter what you do, is incredibly important and to feel safe is as important.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.