Sask. Health Authority announces plan to address overcrowding in Saskatoon hospitals

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) released an action plan Tuesday aimed at dealing with crowding in Saskatoon's hospitals.

The Ministry of Health said in a news release that the plan is aimed at reducing pressure on the city's health-care system.

The SHA has designated three time frames and set goals for each of them.

"We acknowledge that current hospital capacity pressures create a difficult environment for patients who are seeking care in our emergency departments, and for staff and paramedics who have continued to provide excellent care," said Andrew Will, CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority, in the release. 

Three city hospitals in Saskatoon had a combined total of 63 occupied overcapacity beds, according to eHealth Saskatchewan's Tuesday noon update.

Last week, St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon was so overcrowded that beds in the hallways were blocking fire exits. Meanwhile, nurses at Royal University Hospital recently voiced concerns with overcrowding.

Tami Fehr, a retired nurse, said her mother recently spent several days at Royal University Hospital, including a night in a hallway on Oct. 31.

Fehr said her mother received an electrocardiogram (ECG) in the lobby, during which her chest was exposed. Fehr called it a humiliating experience.

"You see them holding up sheets while they're trying to change people in the hallway. And that's when I thought, like, how would these heads of the health authority want to be having their pants changed in the hallway? Like, where is the respect and dignity for these patients?" she said.

Fehr said her 91-year-old mother was moved three or four times within the hospital over five days. She said her story was only one of the many from the "ridiculously busy" hospital.

"Mine was just a snapshot of their world. It was just shocking and atrocious."

The SHA said it will collaborate with the Ministry of Health to add temporary emergency department staff within the next 30 days. Saskatoon hospitals will also temporarily deploy staff to acute care units, according to the plan.

Other immediate actions include working to "enhance weekend staffing," "increase adherence to existing overcapacity protocols" and "enhance the community IV therapy program," the release said. It did not go into detail on the number of staff or how it plans to enhance the community therapy program.

"We have been working on capacity challenges for some time. I think it's important we improve communication with our staff," he said in a media briefing on Tuesday. 

The SHA said its plans for the next 90 days include opening three new ICU beds at the Royal University Hospital, procuring additional community-based long term and convalescent care beds, and increasing home care and palliative care community resources. 

Longer term goals, set for three to six months, include implementing a system for patients without a family doctor to see nurse practitioners or primary care physicians, to avoid emergency room and hospital admissions.

The SHA also listed needs assessment on inpatient beds and long-term care for Saskatoon facilities as part of its longer-term goals.