Health workers say they're worried other patients will suffer if too many resources are diverted to handle an expected COVID-19 surge.
"Our members are feeling quite upset and scared that they're not able to give the patient care they want to because of COVID, because of what's been happening in the health-care system and the pressures that are on the acute-care system," said Saskatchewan Union of Nurses president Tracy Zambory.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is making plans to redeploy more than 500 workers in the next two weeks if cases of the illness continue to climb.
According to projections, daily case counts, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions could more than double by mid-December.
Saskatchewan is now seeing a daily average of more than 250 new cases. On Friday, the province reported 283 new cases. There were 126 people in hospital, including 25 in intensive care, and one more death from the illness was reported.
Saskatchewan Health Authority officials have said they'll be working with all health professionals on plans to accommodate any changes in case numbers.
Many nurses, psychologists, home-care workers, nutritionists and others have already been shifted from their regular duties, but that migration could soon accelerate. Zambory said the non-COVID patients cannot be forgotten.
"You cannot rob Peter to pay Paul," she said.
She and Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan president Karen Wasylenko said they want more information from the government, because workers need to make alternative plans for their current patients.
"We're not really clear. We've been asking for that information," Wasylenko said. "It seems they're trying to match skills to do tasks, but we aren't sure what's going on."
Zambory also said the government hasn't done nearly enough to stop the spread of COVID-19, and she says it's wrong for Premier Scott Moe to publicly hint at relaxing the rules by Christmas.
At a minimum, Moe and Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab need to close high-risk venues like bars and places of worship immediately, says Zambory.
Her union, along with hundreds of health-care workers and other unions, have been calling for those temporary closures since early November, predicting case numbers would soar without action.
While the province has already seen a surge, Zambory said it's not too late to make a difference. The even more dire situations in Manitoba, Alberta and North Dakota should serve as a sobering lesson for this province.
"We're going to be continuing to push Premier Moe and Dr. Shahab to take decisive leadership do that. We have a two- to three-week window. All we have to do is look to the east, look to the west and look to the south," she said.
