What readers told us about healthcare on the Prairies
A Flatlander survey reveals long wait times, staff shortages and persistent gaps in access to care across Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
A while back, The Flatlander asked readers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba how the healthcare system is treating them.
The short answer: it’s complicated. And it’s frustrating.
Across hundreds of responses, a few themes kept coming up.
Waiting
Waiting for family doctors. Waiting for MRIs. Waiting for specialists. Waiting for surgeries.
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Waiting so long that some people said it felt like their lives were on hold while their health declined.
More than half of respondents, 55.3 per cent, said long wait times for surgeries, scans and specialist appointments were a top concern.
Missing people
Doctors retiring. Nurses burning out. Temporary staff rotating through communities.
Many readers said they don’t have a family doctor anymore, and haven’t for years. Others do, but struggle to get an appointment.
About 52 per cent said there aren’t enough healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Geography matters
For those outside major centres, healthcare often means travel. Sometimes hundreds of kilometres.
Readers described making long trips for appointments that used to be closer to home, or arriving at emergency rooms only to find them closed due to staffing shortages.
About 30.2 per cent said they had trouble accessing care in rural and remote areas. Nearly as many, 29.9 per cent, said they had encountered emergency rooms that were closed or operating reduced hours.
Mental healthcare
Services exist, but accessing them can feel like navigating a maze.
Referrals get lost. Wait lists stretch on. Families are left managing serious situations with little support.
About 20.1 per cent of respondents said mental health and addiction services are difficult to access.
Frontline workers
Frontline staff are not the villains in this story.
Readers consistently praised nurses, paramedics, doctors and support staff for doing their best in a system that often feels stretched beyond its limits.
The frustration is directed at the systems, not the people providing care.
This survey isn’t the end of the conversation.
It’s the beginning.
In the weeks ahead, The Flatlander will continue reporting on these issues, speaking with readers, examining why these problems persist and asking what’s standing in the way of care on the Prairies.
Our Prairie stories matter too.
The Flatlander takes a closer look at the stories that unite us, and make us unique, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Will you help us tell our stories?
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