Leaked email reveals operating room closures at Saskatchewan's largest hospital

Operating rooms at Saskatchewan’s largest hospital are closed for six days in June, according to an internal email sent to Saskatoon surgeons.

“There are a number of room closures for various reasons in June,” according to the email, obtained by CTV News.

“The Surgical Executive met to discuss the closures and decisions were made to minimize the impact on any one department, service or surgeon.”

The email lists which Royal University Hospital operating rooms have been closed. Surgeons’ names have been redacted by CTV News.

A health-care worker CTV News spoke to said this is the first time they’ve seen such extensive closed operating rooms.

“It’s a reduction in capacity in a system that is already strained,” they said, adding that half of the closed operating rooms are acute care rooms — which are used in emergency cases.  

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) blamed the closures on staff holidays.

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman said this is normal and planned.

“We got to make sure that we’re looking at maximizing our surgical capacity, but we also got to take care of the surgical staff. They do need to have some scheduled time off,” Merriman said.

Steven Lewis, a health policy consultant, said it “seems odd” to have rooms closed over consecutive dates.

“You just shouldn't schedule things that you know you can't fulfill,” Lewis said, questioning how frequently surgery rooms are shuttered because of staff scheduling.

“You would hope that the system would be very transparent about this and what really matters is what happens to the patients.”

The SHA said no surgeries in the outlined dates were cancelled.

In a written statement, the SHA said “reductions in operating room availability are made very carefully, as to have the least impact on patient care.”