Closure of Regina Clinic Leaves 5,000 Patients Short on Doctors

Post by : Mina Rahman

In Regina, around 5,000 patients are scrambling to find new family doctors following the unexpected closure of the Gardens Community Health Centre this past weekend. The clinic, which served families with various healthcare needs, ceased operations on Sunday due to a failure to recruit sufficient physicians.

This situation highlights the persistent challenges in Saskatchewan concerning primary care availability, where communities continue to be affected by a lack of doctors.

Patients voiced their anxiety over the sudden loss of healthcare support. Kate Malagride, 29, who relied on the clinic since its inauguration in 2018 for anxiety treatment, expressed her fears about finding a new provider to maintain her prescriptions. “Having that stability was really nice, and now it’s just a little unsettling not knowing where to go next,” she lamented.

Vanessa Bourlon, 38, has been dependent on the clinic for the care of her two children with autism. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Our doctor has been with us for so long that she understands our whole history,” she shared.

Tammy Heland, 36, stated that the closure disrupts her treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and celiac disease. “This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s catastrophic. I can’t even go to a walk-in clinic to get my medication,” she highlighted.

The clinic did not provide any comments regarding the reasons behind its closure.

Since its establishment in 2018, the clinic received substantial government funding aimed at enhancing community care and reducing emergency room congestion, though the province has not released the exact figures.

In response, the Opposition NDP criticized the government’s management of the closure. Health critic Meara Conway stated that Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill was aware of the potential risk for months but failed to act. “5,000 people woke up this morning without access to primary care,” she noted.

Cockrill indicated that the province is working to alleviate the shortage by hiring more doctors and engaging nurse practitioners, who can provide comparable services. He encouraged residents without a primary care physician to reach out to available nurse practitioners.

Conway argued that expanding the roles of nurse practitioners does not adequately fill the void left by the clinic’s closure. She recommended that the government could have considered better remuneration to retain doctors or temporarily staffed the clinic with nurse practitioners.

Cockrill reaffirmed that the government's long-term objective is to guarantee that all Saskatchewan residents will have access to a primary care provider by 2028.