Those in Saskatchewan’s medical community were able to ask Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill direct questions at the Fall Representative Assembly of the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) on Friday. In addition to Cockrill, Friday morning’s final speakers included Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Senior and Rural and Remote Health, Lori Carr. The SMA’s members make up 90 per cent of physicians in the province. Delegates from across the province got the rare opportunity to ask direct questions and voice their concerns at the event, something Cockrill said he appreciates doing. “It was nice to hear directly from several of the physicians that there’s progress being made, whether that’s through the innovation fund, whether that’s through several of the investments that are being made in other areas of the health care system. But as I always say, there’s good work happening but there’s far more work to do,” he said. Multiple delegates voiced their concerns on the state of family doctors. One delegate said their co-workers as primary care physicians spend around 40 per cent of their time completing paperwork away from patients. At a time when many in the province are seeking a family doctor, that role is increasingly being filled by others, according to Cockrill. “The reality is there are lots of different providers who can help do that work right, you know obviously family physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists are doing more work on primary care,” he explained. A partnership between the government and SMA is hoping a solution to some of the primary care problems across the province can be found. The Innovation Fund has the goal of giving communities across the province the resources needed to focus on the specific needs of their community. It’s a fund that SMA President and family physician Dr. Carla Holinaty is happy with. “There are concerns with primary care, and the burden that is happening there, from administrative burden and the sheer volume of work that’s happening, and so we’re really excited about some of the partnerships that we’ve been able to start like the Innovation Fund,” Holinaty said. The fund provides $10 million annually to medical centres and clinics. The SMA assembly takes place Friday and Saturday at the Hotel Saskatchewan.
