Saskatchewan government responds to critical capacity issues at St. Paul's hospital

The Government of Saskatchewan is responding to concerns raised by the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) regarding St. Paul's Hospital exceeding capacity.

The union's statement emphasized that the situation had reached a critical point, prompting questions about the government's immediate plan to address the issue.

On Thursday, Health Minister Everett Hindley outlined the government's approach to managing the overcrowding problem.

"We've seen some of the impacts of that, of being able to try and utilize the space we have in hospitals like St. Paul's. We're trying to make sure we have the right patients in the hospitals and finding ways to refer what we call alternative level care patients into other settings," said Hindley.

However, SUN president Tracy Zambory criticized the government's reliance on "load leveling" as a solution, arguing that it lacks meaningful impact on the ground.

"[The minister] talks about load leveling and those kinds of things, which are frankly big words that virtually have no meaning, and that's not what's happening in healthcare today, In fact, as I stated, we have hallway beds everywhere. There is no load leveling, there is no ability to triage," said Zambory.

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Premier Scott Moe pointed to the upcoming completion of the Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre as the long-term solution to overcrowding issues. Citing improving capacity following the construction of a similar facility in Regina.

"What we're seeing here in Regina, you're going to see emulated in Saskatoon as soon as we can get the infrastructure up and operational," Said Moe.

Despite these plans, Zambory remains concerned that progress is too slow, which is eroding confidence in the healthcare system.

"Nothing is coming out of anything that's actually making an impact, and frankly, our members are getting more and more concerned that healthcare is a dangerous game to play now," Zambory said.

With cold and flu season approaching, SUN believes the issue of hospital capacity will continue to get worse.