Four Alternative Level of Care (ALC), one palliative bed to re-open in Kamsack
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) would like to advise residents of Kamsack and surrounding area that five beds at the Kamsack Hospital will re-open to admissions effective Monday, November 14, 2022. Recent recruitment success has resulted in the ability to open one palliative care and four Alternate Level of Care (ALC) beds.
In July 2022, the SHA decided to temporarily convert acute care beds to ALC and temporarily reduce 24-hour emergency services at Kamsack Hospital to limited weekday and no weekend hours due to challenges with the recruitment and retention of registered nurses (RN), combined laboratory and x-ray technologists (CLXT), and physicians and the resulting frequency and unpredictability of service disruptions. RN recruitment success resulted in the expansion of the emergency department hours to 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Friday in September.
Five RNs have returned to Kamsack Hospital from other positions and two full-time new grads were recruited, stabilizing nursing resources to safely proceed with re-opening five beds. Recruitment for CLXT staff is continuing. Additional CLXT staff are necessary in order to expand ER services and open additional acute care beds.
Primary health care, laboratory, x-ray, long-term care, and emergency medical services (EMS) services continue to be available in Kamsack.
PLEASE REMEMBER: In the event of an emergency call 9-1-1 and an ambulance will be dispatched to provide assistance. Non-urgent health-related questions can be directed to the provincial HealthLine by calling 8-1-1.
The Government of Saskatchewan recently released an aggressive Health Human Resources Action Plan that builds on existing initiatives and incentives and will assist the SHA with addressing the staffing challenges that communities across Saskatchewan are currently facing. The plan includes investments of over $60 million through a four-point plan to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain more health-care professionals to stabilize and strengthen Saskatchewan's health-care workforce.
The SHA is committed to fully restoring acute care and emergency services in Kamsack as soon as the current human resource challenges can be adequately addressed. The SHA has appreciated the dedication of the physicians and staff at Kamsack Hospital as well as the ongoing patience and cooperation of Kamsack and area residents throughout these temporary disruptions to services.