Dear Editor,
Reports from the Cypress Health Region that more than 7,000 CT scans need to be re-evaluated are leaving hundreds of patients fearing that they may have been misdiagnosed. This again underscores just how completely the Wall government, and Cypress Hills MLA Wayne Elhard in particular, have failed the people of southwestern Saskatchewan when it comes to providing basic health care services.
Incidents like this raise the whole issue of whether the government is ensuring that our health-care system is staffed with properly trained and certified health-care providers, be they technicians, nurses or doctors.  The fact that hundreds of patients may have been misdiagnosed is a clear indication that the Wall government has failed in its duty. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time that the Sask Party has failed patients in southwestern Saskatchewan.
For months, the hospital in Shaunavon was effectively closed for emergencies because of the Wall government’s failure to recruit rural doctors. This situation was only resolved thanks to the hard work of the local Physician Recruitment Committee, not because of the Wall government or Wayne Elhard.
The hospital in Leader closed for emergency services on May 31 due to lack of doctor coverage and has yet to re-open.
And the Town of Maple Creek has been short its full complement of family doctors since the end of June, again because of the Wall government and Wayne Elhard’s failure to recruit enough doctors to rural Saskatchewan.
In recent weeks, my colleagues and I have visited a number of rural communities where people are concerned about the deteriorating quality of their health care. I am being told that rural people feel they are being treated like second-class citizens, and that members of the Wall government like Wayne Elhard aren’t representing their constituents when it comes to ensuring quality health care services in their communities.  
Rural families and rural communities deserve better. We need strategies to ensure that the health system in all parts of Saskatchewan is staffed with the appropriate complement of health-care providers and that those providers have the necessary training and qualifications to provide Saskatchewan communities with the first-class diagnostic and treatment services that they have the right to receive. At the conclusion of my summer health tour, and following consultation with rural communities and citizens, I intend to present recommendations on how this can be achieved. 
Judy Junor, MLA
NDP Opposition Health Critic