COVID-19 response, Health Minister Paul Merriman was asked to defend a decision made in June to decommission pandemic field hospitals.“Why dismantle the field hospitals when you knew they were going to be needed?” asked Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili in the chamber Monday, referencing June 15 COVID-19 modelling that predicted a spike in cases over the following months.In response, Merriman said “the recommendation for dismantling” the two field hospitals came from the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
He said the recent need for ICU-patient transfer to Ontario arose from a shortage of skilled health-care workers rather than beds or equipment.“Those field hospitals were dismantled but we made sure the human resources were in the right place.