REGINA - An emergency motion from the New Democrats against virtual care in emergency situations has made it to the floor of the Assembly.
The wording from Opposition Rural and Remote Health critic Meara Conway called for the government to ban the practice of using virtual doctors for patients giving birth to a child, or experiencing a life-threatening emergency.
At a news conference earlier that day, Conway had blasted the practice of virtual care as “replacing real doctors with webcams.” She called the practice unsafe and wanted to see more physicians hired to rural and remote emergency rooms.
Unlike several previous NDP attempts at emergency motions this session, this time the government did grant unanimous consent to allow Conway's motion to proceed.
The debate went on throughout Wednesday afternoon, with several NDP and Sask Party MLAs speaking before the Assembly adjourned for the day. But beyond that, the motion faces an uncertain future to say the least.
The indication is the government majority will likely not be voting for it. Martensville-Blairmore MLA Jamie Martens was among those who spoke during the debate Wednesday. In strong remarks, Martens characterized the motion as denying women in rural and remote areas access to a doctor during childbirth.
“I am thankful for virtual care. Every mother matters no matter where she lives,” said Martens. “But saying that women in rural areas aren’t as important and don’t deserve healthcare is not only heartless it’s dangerous… Virtual care is an option, and why would we ban that?”
Martens added that for too many women in rural areas, reaching a major hospital in time is sometimes not an option.
“Imagine a woman going into labour miles from the nearest hospital and having limited transportation options. Well, that was me, Mr. Speaker,” Martens said. “Critical moments, being able to connect with a virtual doctor, can not only provide medical instruction but also emotional strength. The fact that the member opposite would imply that myself, or any woman on this side of the House is not deserving of medical assistance during birth is downright repulsive.”
That last remark drew a rebuke from the Speaker and she withdrew that remark.
Speaking to reporters, Conway made clear she was disappointed with the government’s response.
“We really thought this was an opportunity for agreement,” said Conway.
“For them to double down on using a virtual physician in a life-threatening situation when a woman is having to give birth is ridiculous. This should be sounding an alarm I think for the people of Saskatchewan. It’s a huge red flag. These are not appropriate scenarios for the use of virtual care, I’m sorry.”
Speaking to reporters, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill defended the use of virtual care options in ER. He said he had a high degree confidence in the quality of care from that program and that this was about access to care as close to home as possible.
“The virtual physician program, this is a temporary stabilization strategy in individual facilities. So if you have a community where you don’t have physician coverage for emergency department, this allows us to keep that emergency department open so that people don’t have to travel to the next community to that emergency department.”
Cockrill added that he agrees that webcams aren’t doctors.
“I agree with that. The webcam is a tool so that doctors in our province see more patients and offer care. So overall I think that’s a positive thing that we should be looking at how to expand. Obviously, the priority remains recruiting doctors into our facilities, but there is a role for virtual care all around the province and that’s something we take seriously.”
