Saskatchewan Health Authority launches planning to enhance capacity in Saskatoon
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has initiated an intensive planning process to assess and expand health-care services and capacity in Saskatoon. As part of the SHA’s Capacity Pressure Action Plans, this initiative will provide a framework to ensure Saskatoon’s three adult hospitals, which provide tertiary services for the entire province, are prepared to meet the next decade of health-care growth in Saskatchewan. The plan also addresses the need for additional long-term care beds to meet increasing demand, ensuring patients receive the right care in the appropriate setting.
“The Saskatchewan Health Authority is committed to meeting the health-care needs of our growing population in Saskatoon and across Saskatchewan now and into the future,” said Andrew Will, CEO of the SHA. “This comprehensive planning process will enable us to expand the services provided to patients from across Saskatchewan in Saskatoon’s hospitals, while also enhancing long-term care capacity so that all patients receive the right care in the most appropriate setting.”
The review will evaluate current pressures on Saskatoon’s three adult acute hospitals—Royal University Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital, and Saskatoon City Hospital—while identifying opportunities to expand both acute and long-term care capacity to support the growing populations in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan. Over the next year, the planning process will focus on identifying improvements and making recommendations to optimize existing hospital space and potential future expansion in acute and long-term care.
This initiative builds on recent steps taken to address health-care capacity in Saskatoon. On Tuesday, September 10, the Government of Saskatchewan announced an expansion of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity at Royal University Hospital, enabling care for up to 26 critically ill patients and providing individual rooms for improved patient care.
Similar planning efforts have been implemented in Regina, where a review of health-care services has led to the ongoing construction and procurement of 600 new and replacement long-term care beds to meet the rising demand for seniors' care.
This planning process in Saskatoon is part of the SHA’s broader strategy to address capacity pressures in major urban centres, driven by growing health-care demands across the province.
SHA provides update on Saskatoon and Regina Capacity Pressure Action Plans
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA)’s Capacity Pressure Action Plans are making progress in addressing pressures on emergency and hospital capacity in Saskatoon and Regina. Recognizing that capacity in urban emergency departments can be variable, driven by seasonal demands and the complexity of cases presenting, the SHA has hired more than 310 additional Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff in Saskatoon and Regina, including 132 additional nursing positions. Through the Capacity Pressure Action Plans, the SHA has opened an additional 178 long-term, convalescent and transitional care beds in Saskatoon and Regina in addition to enhanced services in primary health care to provide care in the community.
“As our health-care teams adjust to the variable demands on emergency departments and in acute care settings, I am proud of the collaborative work they have undertaken to prioritize high-quality patient care,” said Derek Miller, COO of the SHA. “The SHA is committed to supporting our teams in delivering this care and taking concrete steps through our action plans to address capacity pressures.”
The provincial government has invested $71.4 million this past year with a focus on increasing health-system capacity, including $30 million for the Saskatoon and Regina Capacity Pressures Actions plans; and $10 million for the Regina Urgent Care Centre (UCC). To date, the Regina UCC has treated over 7,000 patients requiring urgent care, decreasing pressures on emergency departments at Regina General Hospital and Pasqua Hospital.