Regionalization and the Closure of 52 Hospitals in Rural Saskatchewan

Abstract

In the early 1990s Canada was in a recession and the government of Saskatchewan felt the pressure of a growing deficit. In 1992, the provincial government decided to reduce the health care budget by 3.3%. The following year, the government undertook regionalization of health care services through the Health Districts Act, with a focus on promoting preventative health care rather than solely treatment-based care. The budget cuts resulted in the closure of 52 rural hospitals, leading to a public outcry. Evaluations of the reform were not able to show a definite detrimental effect on health outcomes in the corresponding communities. Community members expressed increased caregiver burden, travel costs and travel time to the next nearest hospital, and potential inequalities in access to care. When undertaking reform, it is important that government consider the voices of local communities in the decision-making process.

Keywords

• Saskatchewan
• health reform
• hospital closure
• regionalization
• health care budget
• Health Districts Act