SASKATOON – There has been no improvement to overcrowding at Saskatoon hospitals and it is now affecting surgeries. The Saskatoon Health Region announced Wednesday all non-emergency and non-cancer related surgeries have been postponed at Royal University and St. Paul’s hospitals.
All surgeries scheduled at Saskatoon City Hospital are still going ahead as planned.
The goal, officials say, is to free up beds for a new 14-day initiative to fix the overcapacity problems hospitals have been dealing with for the past 16 weeks.
READ MORE: Backlog at Saskatoon emergency rooms
Any new ideas put forward by staff will be tested to try and find a long-term way to eliminate temporary hallway medical care and long emergency wait times.
“So what normally would have taken weeks or months and gone from one desk to another and went through legal will go through all those steps of diligence, but within hours or minutes,” said Dan Florizone, president and CEO of the health region.
“And that’s what we’re really trying to evoke here; permission but support to make today’s changes today.”
Health region officials say anyone who is affected by the postponements has been contacted.
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