SARM Rallies for a Pharmacy Expansion Service for Rural Saskatchewan

As the need for increased support of rural health care becomes increasingly apparent, rural communities in Saskatchewan are calling for urgent attention and action. Ensuring that all residents have access to quality health care is not just a matter of convenience but a fundamental necessity that impacts the well-being and future of these communities.

This provincial election, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is continuing its call for expanded health care services as rural municipalities (RMs) are facing challenges when it comes to sustaining access to health care, with many rural residents travelling an hour or more to see a medical professional.

Earlier this year SARM brought to attention the need for expanding Nurse Practitioners programming in the province to support our rural healthcare systems and add valuable health care professionals where they are desperately needed. SARM’s goal, for our RMs, is to see health care services broadened in ways that will allow residents in rural Saskatchewan the opportunity to access medical resources easily in their communities.

Another resource SARM sees as beneficial to rural health care is pharmacies. Pharmacists are an opportunity to expand health services for rural communities. A local pharmacy is a hub for rural areas as many have additional services like a post office, groceries, and more. Rural Saskatchewan has 426 pharmacies in 125 communities from Buffalo Narrows to Oxbow, and in many, the pharmacist is the only resident health care provider for miles.

“SARM would like to see the government launch a program similar to the one in Nova Scotia called the Community Pharmacy Primary Care program pilot project. It gave Nova Scotia the opportunity to add more pharmacy clinics in areas that had little access to a health practitioner. The pharmacist was able to assess and prescribe for minor ailments, things such as strep throat and asthma. We believe investing in our pharmacists and adding pharmacies in our province will help fill a void for our rural residents,” says Bill Huber, SARM acting President.

“Pharmacists across Saskatchewan stand ready to help advance health care services across the province, especially in Saskatchewan’s rural communities and small towns. We appreciate that the Government of Saskatchewan is working to advance the scope of pharmacy in the province. We also share SARM’s view that this service expansion should happen quickly for the benefit of Saskatchewan residents,” said Michael Fougere, CEO, Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan.

Health care is a challenge across the country, but even more so for those living and raising families in rural areas where residents face:

• Shortage of facilities with a health care provider, leading to long drive times.
• Shortage of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other vital healthcare professionals.
• Backlogged urban hospitals – rural residents often drive for an extended period just to wait hours in an over-capacity urban health centre.

Adding a pharmacy care expansion program would provide additional job opportunities for Saskatchewan pharmacy graduates and allow RMs to have accessibility to a health care service in their community that can offer same day appointments and extended hours. SARM believes implementing a program like this in the province would improve wait times for urgent care/emergency services, lessen the load for practicing physicians, and continue to keep rural communities a viable place to live, work, and raise a family.

“SARM recognizes the importance of sustaining pharmacy services in rural Saskatchewan, but more importantly, we want to see our pharmacists be allowed to offer more services to our residents. It’s time for our government to act quickly and begin to launch the expansion of pharmacy services in RMs,” says Huber.

2024 Provincial Election Priorities

The following are SARM’s key areas of focus for the upcoming provincial election. This release is the first in a series highlighting the rural challenges around each.

• Infrastructure
• Health Care
• Policing & Crime
• Agriculture

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Background: SARM is the independent association representing rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, serving as the primary advocate for its members before senior governments.