Saskatchewan MLA Colleen Young says the province’s health needs assessment for the Lloydminster Hospital does not recommend building a new facility.
Young made the comments Aug. 21 during an interview marking the completion of highway upgrades in the Lloydminster area, funded through a $55 million provincial investment.
The Lloydminster Hospital Health Service Needs Assessment lists 13 recommendations for improving care in the city, including expanded urgent care access. The report has not been officially released by the Saskatchewan or Alberta governments.
Young confirmed the report stops short of calling for a new building.
“It doesn’t say that the building itself needs to be redone,” said Young.
She said the hospital, built in 1986 to serve a population of 14,500, is falling short on services, not necessarily on infrastructure.
“It’s saying that it isn’t, the services aren’t enough to serve the population that it is currently serving,” said Young.
Young said renovations to the existing building could support new services without a full rebuild.
“There are areas within the hospital that we could do some significant work and renovations that would support additional services for patients and for people that use the hospital,” said Young.
She said the timeline for releasing the assessment publicly rests with health ministers in both provinces.
“I’m leaving that to the ministers and their officials. They are the ones who are to release it,” said Young.
Young said she has advocated for the Lloydminster public but that final decisions on the report and any hospital changes belong to provincial officials.
She tied the highway investment to the same broader goal, saying stronger infrastructure supports the oil and agriculture industries and builds the tax base that funds future health care spending.
“That really is helpful to make sure that the governments have the funds that they can invest back into the province,” said Young.
Young pointed to the province’s Health Human Resources Action Plan as the mechanism that would determine how fast any new hospital services could be staffed, saying construction alone will not solve the gaps identified in the report.
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