The Opposition NDP is criticizing the SaskParty government, in the wake of the most recent service disruption at the Wadena Hospital.

Emergency services at the facility were temporarily disrupted overnight, forcing patients requiring such care to travel to the hospitals in Wynyard and Kelvington.

In a release, the NDP Shadow Minister of Rural and Remote Health, Meara Conway, called the situation “unacceptable,” saying residents facing life-or-death emergencies shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not their local emergency rooms are open.

The NDP says that since August of 2019, the hospital in Wadena has seen at least 37 service closures, totaling more than 100 days without essential care, affecting emergency, radiography, lab and diagnostic services at various times during that period.