The Sask NDP is calling out the provincial government for not providing enough support to healthcare workers after the operating hours of the Saskatoon Safety Centre hotline were cut back to 7 am to 9 pm from 24 hours a day.

The hotline was used by healthcare workers in hospitals to report safety incidents.

NDP Shadow Minister for Labour and Workplace Safety Nathaniel Teed says healthcare workers are feeling less and less safe each day, especially without a full-time safety line.

“I think a cut to the safety line in a time where healthcare workers are asking for more support because they’re seeing the worst safety situation that they’ve seen in years. Cutting that safety line isn’t the answer.”

Teed adds that the reduction of hours comes at a time when weapons are being seized at hospitals on a regular basis.

“Days after the Sask Party quietly cut the Saskatoon Safety Centre hotline, images emerged of weapons confiscated in Saskatoon hospitals, including knives, machetes, saws and pickaxes.”

Along with being a way for healthcare workers to report safety incidents, Teed says that the hotline is also a useful way to keep track of the safety challenges that front line workers deal with in hospitals.

“This was one way that we were able to log incidents in our healthcare system. We’ve seen the extremes, weapons seized in our hospitals. It could go in the other direction, potentially someone found a needle on the floor. But it’s important that we’re logging those safety incidents so we can have that broad picture.”

The NDP wants line should be restored back to a 24 hour service. They say they also want to see the Minister of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority meet with front line workers to address their concerns.