Transit lockout affecting Saskatoon health services
Ryan Meili said he noticed the impact of the transit lockout days after bus service stopped.
Meili is a doctor at the city's Westside Community Clinic.
"When I had a patient who is usually quite punctual, usually makes it to all her appointments, she called to cancel saying she wasn't able to get to clinic because of no bus service," Meili said in an interview on Saskatoon Morning.
Today is day five of the transit lockout.
The effects of no bus service are being felt across the city. Some schools are reporting lower attendance. Traffic jams are worse than usual. Parking is tough to come by.
Meili said the lost service is of special concern at the clinic because it serves a lower-income clientele, and they have serious maladies: diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV. He said staff are working to find ways to get those in need to their appointments.
"Some patients who have really urgent health needs, we can access some outreach services to try and get them rides, in particular our severe HIV patients," Meili said.
Meili also said he's heard that people are finding it difficult to buy groceries. Those who relied on the bus must now consider walking to the grocery store, making multiple trips to carry their bags home.
"We're even hearing stories of places like Giant Tiger, where most of the staff would be using the bus to get to work, having difficulty keeping the store adequately staffed," he said.
