Severe staffing shortages in Regina General radiology unit led to patient deaths: health-care workers

Laura Sciarpelletti · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A precocious leaked missive from health-care workers astatine Regina General Hospital alleges that patients person died aft not receiving urgent, life-saving interventions due to terrible staffing shortages successful the hospital's interventional radiology unit.

The leaked letter says that, among other issues, lone 4 retired of 10 interventional radiology technologist positions and 4 of 9 nursing positions are filled astatine Regina General. 

Regina health-care workers joined the Opposition NDP astatine the Saskatchewan Legislature Thursday morning. When the NDP raised the issues outlined successful the letter, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said helium had not seen it. He told reporters aboriginal that his ministry volition reappraisal the missive to recognize the issues.

Dionne Wagner, the Canadian Union of Public Employees country typical for Regina's Pasqua Hospital, said she had a gathering with the Ministry of Health 3 weeks ago.

"[Cockrill] is decidedly good alert of the concerns that are going connected successful our wellness care," said Wagner.

A multimillion-dollar radiology suite astatine Pasqua Hospital is not being utilized owed to short-staffing, according to the health-care workers' letter. 

Wagner said she has emails coming successful "non-stop" from the radiology section due to the fact that of abbreviated staffing, worries astir idiosyncratic and diligent safety, and agelong waits for diligent care. 

Morale astatine Pasqua has been down for rather a fewer years, said Wagner.

"People are wholly burned out. They're trying to enactment positive. They emotion their careers," she said.

"But erstwhile it comes down to it and you're [lacking] slumber and you're moving 36 hours, however tin you really enactment affirmative for that agelong without really getting immoderate backup from the government?"

Gerri Grant, a signatory connected the letter, was an interventional radiology technologist for 17 years astatine Regina General Hospital. She decided to resign past summer.  

"I gave up a truly fabulous, engaging vocation aft conscionable watching my co-workers struggle, myself conflict with that work-life balance," said Grant, who added that professionals successful her section were taking on-call enactment astatine an "excessive rate."

"You would beryllium moving your regular shifts, arsenic good arsenic on-call, watching patients suffer. I couldn't spot that anymore. We watched the delays successful their attraction harm them, and that's not thing I could grip anymore."

Grant said staffing shortages person been a occupation for years, but person go overmuch worse. She said other interventional radiology technologists person besides near their jobs owed to the conditions. 

Another 1 of the galore calls for enactment successful the workers' letter is for the Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority to guarantee due grooming for each caller hires, truthful that all workers are afloat susceptible of performing their required duties.

Personnel besides want the ministry to code work-life equilibrium concerns by uncovering sustainable solutions for on-call sum and overtime, alternatively of relying connected existing unit to "absorb the burden."

Read the health-care workers' missive below:

Radiology groups moving to stabilize services: minister

Cockrill told reporters that successful caller months, the Saskatchewan Health Authority signed contracts with 2 Regina-based radiology groups that volition enactment to stabilize radiology services. 

"So obviously, arsenic we get those agreements up and moving and successful place, that should assistance to stabilize radiology services," the wellness curate said.

Registered nurses are besides getting enhanced grooming that volition assistance easiness the load and get patients faster service, helium said.

"We surely recognize it's challenging erstwhile you're moving abbreviated connected a unit. That's precisely wherefore we're moving to bid more, enlistee more, [to] make the enactment situation amended for the radical connected the level moving to supply attraction for patients," Cockrill said. 

The curate said helium expects SHA leadership and front-line managers to enactment connected that each azygous day.

"That's their job, to execute and present — present the health-care strategy successful this province," helium said. "[It's] thing that I punctual the Saskatchewan Health Authority often, and past pushing them to bash each the time."

Meanwhile, the signatories of the missive said they privation accrued connection astir betterment plans betwixt the ministry and health-care workers.