June Draude MLA Website

MLA Report

19 April 2010

Surgical Initiatives

In my role as Provincial Secretary, I recently travelled to Quebec to tell the Saskatchewan story to the members of the Montreal Consular Corps, representing 85 countries. I spoke on the exceptional quality of life, dynamic economy and vast natural resources that our province has to offer and that over the last five years Saskatchewan has substantially increased trade with other nations. With 31 per cent of the world supply of potash and 21 percent of uranium production coming directly from Saskatchewan, we know that this increase will likely continue.

If you are a vehicle owner who is permanently unable to drive for medical reasons, you can apply for a non-driver medical discount. Vehicle owners wishing to apply for the non-driver medical discount should call SGI's Medical Review Unit at 1-800-667-8015 (ext. 6176) or email mruinquiries@sgi.sk.ca. For more information, visit the SGI website at www.sgi.sk.ca.

It’s a well-known fact that people in Saskatchewan care about their environment and are embracing recycling. As of April 1, the Saskatchewan Waste Electronic Equipment Program announced that audio and visual equipment including items such as VCR’s, DVD’s, stereos, cameras and phones have been added to the list of products that can be recycled. This electronic equipment is now being accepted for recycling at all Sarcan Depots. A full list of the products is available at http://www.sweepit.ca/

The Minister of Highways and Infrastructure recently announced the 2010 construction season which will see 1,149 km. of major highway upgrades and more than 900 km. of maintenance work. This work is possible due to the second largest transportation budget in Saskatchewan’s history. In the Kelvington-Wadena Constituency work will be done on: 10 km highway upgrade from Fishing Lake to Junction of Highway 5; grade and pave 20 km. of Highway 310 from Foam Lake to Fishing Lake; Repairing 23 km. of Highway 49 East of Lintlaw to East of Kelvington; and maintenance of 17.8 km. Highway 5 East of Rama to Invermay, 3.95 km. of Highway 5East of Margo and 6.52 km. Highway 23 – Weekes access to Somme.

Our government has appointed an independent panel to conduct a comprehensive review of child welfare in Saskatchewan beginning three months of stakeholder consultations. From April 1 to June 30, 2010, First Nations and Métis organizations and other child welfare stakeholders across Saskatchewan will engage with the review panel in one of three ways:

·        Consultation meetings -- select delegations will be invited to meet privately with the panel to share their views on child welfare, as well as provide a written submission.

·        Written submissions -- select individuals and organizations will be invited to provide a written brief to the panel.

·        Online consultation -- anyone with an interest in child welfare in Saskatchewan may complete an online questionnaire for submission to the panel. The questionnaire can be accessed on the website of the Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review from April 1 to June 30, 2010. The website is located at www.saskchildwelfarereview.ca.

The panel's toll-free telephone number is 1-877-370-6511.

Wait times for elective surgeries continue to be a challenge. A plan to shorten surgical wait times and improve the experience of surgical patients in Saskatchewan was recently released. The goal is to achieve a maximum wait time of three months for elective surgeries within four years. In 2010-11, the provincial government will provide $10.5 million in funding for the surgical plan. This funding will support 3,000 additional surgeries; 2,500 additional CT scans; renovations to enhance operating rooms and post-operative bed capacity; implementation and expansion of an electronic Surgical Information System; and numerous system improvement initiatives identified in the plan. Among the plan's 25 initiatives will be a surgical referral website for patients, standardized safety checklists in operating rooms and contracting of third-party surgical care to increase the province's surgical capacity. The plan outlines projects that are either in development or currently being implemented in the health system to achieve shorter wait times, a better patient experience, safer and higher quality care, a healthier population, and a stable, adequate supply of patient- and family-centered care providers.

In support of efforts to improve access to specialized diagnostic imaging services, $2 million in funding is being provided to replace the MRI at Saskatoon City Hospital.

Progress on each of the surgical plan's initiatives will be monitored and evaluated over the four-year lifespan of the surgical initiative, with results regularly reported to health system partners and the public. Copies of the complete plan are available at www.health.gov.sk.ca/saskatchewan-surgical-initiative.

If you have a question about this report or any other matter, just Contact June

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