'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
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
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
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.