Why keep bringing up the negatives when this is a definite positive no matter how you spin the coin?

There’s no question there will always be a concern in this province when it comes to the topic of privatizing health care... but in this instance it’s simply not the case. This is a fair means to get caught up and to get people into surgeries in a more timely fashion.

This week it was announced both knee and dental surgery patients in the province could now be having procedures done outside of your typical hospital setting.

Beginning this week, the Omni Surgery Centre in Regina is taking bookings for patients who are to undergo dental and arthroscopic knee surgery through the provincial government's Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative.

The program, announced in March, will see some publicly funded surgeries performed in private clinics in Regina and Saskatoon in an effort to shorten wait times and eliminate the backlog on surgical wait lists. The bookings at Omni will be made like any other through the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region. That means no queue jumping and no paying more to get more. In fact, prices are coming in a tad lower than it would cost the government to pay for the same procedures at a Saskatchewan hospital.

While some question the government’s motives behind the program, Health Minister Don McMorris stressed that the changes are not meant to open the door to privatization.

“This is allowing patients to receive service in a timely manner – that’s what is driving this,” says McMorris. “The Patient First Review talked about the biggest irritant of people in the general public was the waits they’ve had.

“We’re looking at all options: Expanding the public system as well as looking at third-party delivery. This may be new to Saskatchewan, a third-party deliverer... as a surgical clinic, but third-party delivery within the health-care system in Saskatchewan is not new.”

If we can more effectively and fairly treat Saskatchewan patients it just makes no sense to not travel that path.