β Emergency room (ER) services in hospitals in Kelvington, Wadena, and Wynyard are moving to a new collaborative support service model effective immediately until further notice. This temporary change uses area resources to support and ensure stable, predictable access to emergency services in all three communities. No other services are affected.
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Emergency Room services will remain open and available 24/7 in all three locations. If there is no on-site physician available to assess and treat as required, nursing staff will assess the patient and contact an off-site physician in one of the partnering ERs for further direction and orders.
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The collaborative ER service model minimizes the risk of service disruption, and provides patients and families with access to service in local facilities. This innovative approach has been taken in response to challenges with rural physician recruitment and the added pressure on the health system due to increased COVID activity.
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This model of care ensures reliable, sustainable and safe care for the communities using all resources within the area to support emergency services.ΜύΜύ βThis is really about expanding our teams to work collaboratively across facilities and communities using all resources to meet the needs of clients as close to home as possible,β said Dr. Martin Salter, Area Division Lead.
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EMS responding to 9-1-1 calls will be dispatched to transport patients to the nearest ER with a physician on-site where they will be assessed and treated or transported to the appropriate regional or tertiary care centre.
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In the event of an emergency call 9-1-1. Non-urgent health related questions can be directed to the provincial HealthLine by calling 8-1-1.
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Service disruptions due to COVID-19 can be found on the of the Saskatchewan Health Authority website.
