Krista Reid鈥檚 son has been at the Jim Pattison Children鈥檚 Hospital in Saskatoon for more than a week dealing with stomach problems that she says doctors are unable to diagnose.
Reid's eight-year-old Casten Boyer requires Saskatchewan鈥檚 only pediatric gastroenterologist for a diagnosis, but she said the specialist is no longer taking new patients and is preparing to leave the province.
That means Casten will have to stay in the hospital until staff find him a specialist out of province.
鈥淥ur pediatrician鈥檚 hands are tied, and Casten just needs more care than what they can offer here because that specialist isn鈥檛 here,鈥 Reid said in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely hard, especially trying to comfort him and calm him down when they are inserting that tube and whatnot.鈥
Earlier this year, parents who have children with gastrointestinal problems found out that Saskatchewan鈥檚 only pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Simone Nicol, is ending her services at the end of May. A request for comment to her Saskatoon office was not returned.
The specialist has helped numerous families in Saskatchewan with diagnosing various gastrointestinal issues and providing treatment. Other pediatricians in the province can鈥檛 diagnose such problems because they don鈥檛 have that scope of practice.
Reid said doctors at the hospital have been treating Casten the best they can and have also been constantly phoning and emailing physicians outside Saskatchewan to see who can help him.
鈥淭hey have worked tirelessly but they're flying blind, basically,鈥 she said.
鈥淭here's no help from the big guys. How is this Canada, right? We aren't supposed to have these issues. Casten shouldn't have to have a lower standard of care because the government is not on top of things."
The Ministry of Health said Monday that the Saskatchewan Health Authority is working with doctors and specialists in Western Canada to create 鈥渁 contingency plan to ensure children receive the care they need.鈥
The ministry said $2.27 million of increased annual funding is being provided to develop and stabilize a gastrointestinal specialist program in Saskatchewan, with the goal to reduce wait times and help ensure patients receive care close to home.
鈥淭he funding increase will support over ten full-time clinical staff to create a multidisciplinary care team based within Saskatoon. The SHA has funding in place to support three pediatric GI specialists in the province,鈥 it stated.
The ministry did not say how many children are affected by the specialist鈥檚 departure, though many families have said they expect they鈥檒l have to go out of province to find a new doctor until some are hired in Saskatchewan.
The average wait time was not provided, but some parents have said they鈥檝e had to wait up to six years in Saskatchewan before seeing a specialist.
Reid said her son has been experiencing stomach problems for the past three or four months. His situation became worse about a week ago, she said, requiring hospitalization.
He has not been able to eat and has had fevers, she said, adding doctors have inserted a feeding tube through his nose to ensure he鈥檚 being nourished.
鈥淗e is, of course, not comfortable and it鈥檚 scary. It鈥檚 quite traumatic for him and just breaks my heart seeing this,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd then furthermore, that he has to wait even longer to get the help that he needs is very stressful and frustrating.鈥
Should Reid find a doctor in another province, she anticipates she鈥檒l have to pay for travel and accommodation costs. Casten will also require followup care from that doctor.
The ministry said transportation and accommodation to access care in another province or within Saskatchewan is not covered as an insured service.
Reid said the government needs to find an alternative plan quickly if it can鈥檛 hire a new pediatric gastrointestinal specialist immediately.
鈥淭his is a big issue here and unfortunately, for some reason, the government isn't in a hurry to find a solution for us to access out-of-province care or bring someone new in,鈥 Reid said.
鈥淓ven if we end up not being able to turn the wheels fast enough, I still want to ensure that other families don't have to go through this.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published April 11, 2023
