The Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) have confirmed that Saskatchewan physicians have ratified a new five-year contract with overwhelming support from members.
“We are very pleased to have a new contract with our valued physicians, to help support patient care and continue to make Saskatchewan a preferred location to practice,” said Health Minister Jim Reiter, in a news release. “This positive step will maintain one of the most competitive remuneration and benefits package for physicians in Canada, in order to recruit and retain physicians in our province. It will help ensure that Saskatchewan residents are able to access vital physician services, not only during the current pandemic but into the future.”
SMA president Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz shared the same sentiment as Reiter in the press release.
"This will continue to benefit the practice of medicine and the province’s health system for years to come," said Konstantynowicz. "I would like to thank the negotiating committee of the SMA, and Ministry of Health representatives, who put in countless hours of work on behalf of Saskatchewan’s physicians to reach this deal. With the agreement now in place, physicians can work with a degree of certainty during these uncertain times created by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The contract includes an agreement to continue to provide virtual care, following feedback from citizens, and plans to develop primary care compensation models to support family physicians with the vision of the Patient’s Medical Home project.
Physicians will also receive an overall wage increase of one per cent annually for five years, beginning retroactively in April 2017 and active until March 2022.
Over 90 per cent of SMA physicians who cast ballots voted in favour of the new contract.
