Emergency room (ER) services in three Saskatchewan towns are partnering up in the event a hospital doesn’t have a doctor available on-site.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said the new approach in Kelvington, Wadena, and Wynyard was implemented in response to challenges with rural physician recruitment and the added pressure on the health system due to increased COVID-19 activity.
In the communities, ERs will stay open 24/7 but nursing staff will assess patients and contact an off-site physician at a partnering hospital for further direction and orders if no doctor is available locally.
In addition, EMS responding to 911 calls will take patients to the nearest ER with a physician on-site.
This temporary change uses area resources to support and ensure stable, predictable access to emergency services, SHA said.
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“This is really about expanding our teams to work collaboratively across facilities and communities using all resources to meet the needs of clients as close to home as possible,” area division lead Dr. Martin Salter said in a press release Friday.
There was an advisory about a temporary disruption to emergency services at Wadena Hospital from 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 to 8 a.m. on Dec. 11. SHA said emergency services were available at Kelvington Hospital and Wynyard Hospital.
The new collaborative ER service model will be in place until further notice, SHA said. No other services are affected in the three communities.
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