Saskatoon City Hospital's partial closure Tuesday a 'red flag': ER doctor

Saskatoon City Hospital's emergency department reduced its services Tuesday evening, raising a "red flag" about issues facing health care in the city, according to one of the hospital's physicians.

"Closures happening is not new, but closures happening in a place like Saskatoon is new," Dr. Brittany Ellis, an emergency physician who works at all three of Saskatoon's hospitals, told CBC Wednesday.

In a post on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, she shared a note from the Saskatchewan Health Authority warning of "limited" capacity at the hospital's ER on Tuesday.

Ellis said in her five years as a physician in the city, she hasn't seen a closure or partial closure of a Saskatoon emergency department.

According to the provincial health authority, there was a "limited" reduction to the hospital's emergency services from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday because some of its doctors were ill. The emergency department closes at 8:30 p.m.

"During this limited service reduction, patients continued to be triaged by emergency department staff and an emergency department physician remained on site to assess, treat and support patients," the Saskatchewan Health Authority said in an emailed statement.

A note posted to the hospital's entrance notified people they may be asked to present to a different emergency department in the city. The hospital resumed normal operations on Wednesday at 9 a.m., and the health authority said it doesn't anticipate further service reductions.

Ellis called the incident a partial closure and said even if it was prompted by ill doctors, it is symptomatic of larger, complex issues.

The issue of doctors getting sick is something "that happens anywhere," she said.

"In the past we've been easily able to mount coverage for that type of event, but because of the demands that have been placed amongst physicians in Saskatoon in the recent weeks, months, even years, probably, it's harder and harder to find that help."  

An aging population, a lack of primary and community care, and existing issues in emergency departments are all leading to growing problems in health care, she said.

"We're also seeing patients leaving [hospitals] increasingly without being seen, which represents its own issues and challenges, and certainly risks to patients."

Health-care workers are also experiencing more burnout and turnover, Ellis said, adding she's feeling that strain herself. She said she worries she isn't providing the best care she can because of the toll the work environment takes and the lack of supports.

Capacity pressure release plan not working: NDP

In mid-November, the Saskatchewan Health Authority,  in collaboration with the Health Ministry, released an action plan to help deal with crowding in Saskatoon's hospitals.

It was meant to alleviate and address the immediate pressures facing hospital capacity in Saskatoon with "several concrete actions," while also introducing long-term measures.

Ellis said she hasn't noticed changes and said there's still room for improvement.

Vicki Mowat, the Saskatchewan NDP's health critic, said that plan isn't working.

"We know that so many communities rely on Saskatoon care and that these pressures existing in Saskatoon show that even our largest centre is having trouble with staffing," the Opposition MLA said.

Mowat also criticized the Saskatchewan Party government's retention strategies, claiming that is not a priority in their plan.

When CBC requested a response to the NDP's criticism, the provincial Ministry of Health deferred to the health authority for response.

On Dec. 19, the Saskatchewan Health Authority posted an update to its action plan, announcing the addition of 285 permanent and temporary health-care staff in Saskatoon. It also said recruitment for the positions was underway.

The health authority released an action plan to ease capacity pressure in Regina two days later.

Mowat said the situation in Saskatchewan's second-largest city is "very bleak" for patients, with Regina hospitals also understaffed and patients being treated in hallways and waiting rooms.