REGINA – One of the surgical units at Regina’s Pasqua Hospital is closing as a cost-effective measure because the beds aren’t busy enough.
According to the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, doctors have worked through a backlog of surgeries over the past couple of years and now the eight beds in the surgical short-stay unit are sometimes empty.
“The last little while, we have been about 60 to 70 per cent utilizing those beds,” said Sandy Euteneier, executive director of surgical care services with the RQHR. “But having said that, there’s other surgical beds empty throughout the hospital. So it really goes back to being cost effective”
The unit opened in May of 2013 and was used for patients staying in the hospital for less than 72-hours. The unit is closing indefinitely for the “summer slowdown” and its patients will now stay in unit 4D, a general surgical unit.
The move impacts 18 staff members. Euteneier said the health region hopes no jobs will be lost.
“We’re going to be granting extra vacations so that means we have extra staff, so that we won’t have to replace the staff on their vacations. We’re working very closely with the unions to determine just what will happen,” said Euteneier.
Euteneier couldn’t say how long the unit will be closed or how much money the health region is saving.
The unit is slated to close June 29, unless staff members choose to move on beforehand.
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