Saskatchewan forecasts health worker needs

It’s the first plan of its kind for Saskatchewan – a ten year look-ahead of what the province’s healthcare staffing needs will be. 

“So we might actually plan a workforce, how many people and what mix we might need down the road,” said Ron Knaus, the executive director of Workforce Planning for the Ministry of Health.  

Out of the 30,000 healthcare professionals in the province, nurses and homecare aides will be most affected by retirements.  

By 2020, the nursing shortage is expected to be over 3,000. 

The president of the Nurses Union said this type of forecasting will help the health care industry and the government be better prepared to fill the gaps.  

“It’s certainly a start of what our future looks like so we can plan better and not end up with the large number of vacant positions that we did in the past,” said Saskatchewan Nurses Union President Rosalee Longmoore.  

The government has increased the number of nursing seats in universities but its challenge will be keeping those workers in the province.  

“We want to create positive and quality workplaces that are safe and respectful to recruit and retain staff,” said Knaus.  

Last year, Saskatchewan had the lowest percentage of Canadian trained physicians in Canada. The province has had to rely on recruiting internationally trained doctors especially those willing to move to rural areas.
Staffing in remote communities is still expected to be a challenge in 10 years.  

“I grew up in rural Saskatchewan where there was pretty much a physician in every small town and today that doesn’t exist, but these people need health care and we need to address what is the best way to ensure their access to primary care,” said Longmoore.  

The government hopes that by starting a long-term plan, it can meet the human resource challenges a growing, and aging population will face in the years ahead.