Sask. Health Authority announces plan aimed at reducing overcrowding in Regina hospitals

The Saskatchewan Health Authority released an action plan Thursday morning that it hopes will address overcrowding and hallway care in Regina hospitals.

The announcement came one day after the Opposition NDP released internal SHA memos showing a Regina fire inspector warned the authority that patients receiving care in hallways at the Regina General Hospital and The Pasqua Hospital were leading to fire code violations.

"Regina's tertiary hospitals are facing capacity pressures that are exacerbated by seasonal respiratory viruses and a rise in patients presenting with increasingly complex needs," said Sheila Anderson, SHA's vice president of integrated Regina health, on Thursday.

SHA said the Regina Capacity Pressure Action Plan will help alleviate overcrowding in Regina hospitals. The authority said it will be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. 

The action plan includes adding more staff in acute care units, the addition of palliative home care resources, and opening four additional high-acuity beds at Regina General Hospital.

"We believe that this is a really robust plan that will help us eliminate beds in our hallways," said Anderson.   

Watch: Internal memos expose dangerous levels of hallway medicine, overcrowding in Regina hospitals: 

Internal memos expose dangerous levels of hallway medicine, overcrowding in Regina hospitals

11 months ago

Duration 2:21

Health-care workers in Regina hospitals have been treating patients in hallways because of bed and staffing shortages, but the fire department says this practice is a dangerous fire code violation that’s putting everyone in the hospitals at risk. 

Anderson said the SHA has already added some beds as an immediate response.

Other efforts currently underway include the construction of a Regina urgent care centre expected to open in mid 2024. 

Thursday's announcement follows a similar Saskatoon capacity pressure action plan that SHA released in November, which involved the rollout of initiatives over 30 days to help tackle hallway care in Saskatoon hospitals.

The NDP said the memos released earlier this week were leaked by frustrated health workers

One email showed a senior SHA official stating that "there could be a directive to keep patients in ambulances until the ER can accept transfer of care." 

When asked to expand on this email during a news conference on Thursday, Anderson said "we are looking at different ways to ensure that we meet the fire code, and that would include working with our EMS providers to look at different options."

Anderson said the 90-day action plan has already been reviewed by fire inspectors and that they were "encouraged" by the actions being taken. 

She said SHA acknowledges the inspection reports and is working to meet fire code.