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Regina's Urgent Care Centre seeing high volume of patients since opening

The UCC has supported nearly 800 patients dealing with mental health and drug addictions.
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Tom Stewart, SHA executive director of acute care in Regina, says the UCC overall has perceived really positive feedback from patients and families.

REGINA - Since its opening last July, the Regina Urgent Care Centre (UCC) has treated 20,000 patients (currently averaging 113 per day) for a variety of medical needs.  The numbers were posted by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) this week.

Tom Stewart, SHA executive director of acute care in Regina, spoke about what that indicates to him.

"I think since the Urgent Care Centre is opened, we've been able to provide an additional resource that is another access point for patients, providing them a really convenient way to access care. And now they're having an option where they're not required to go to the emergency department (ED)."

While mentioning giving residents a different option in terms of medical needs that would be normally required in the ED of the hospital, Stewart was asked if said medical centres have seen a drop in people needing urgent care.

He said, "we're starting to see some decreases overall in the number of patients coming to an emergency [department]."

Stewart acknowledged that the UCC has only been open for around six months, and they need a full year to understand the full impact of it.

He also said some patients come into the UCC "are perhaps sicker and need to be then transported to [the] emergency [department]. So we do have protocols in place where we can quickly assess and stabilize that patient, and then if they need to go to [the] emergency department, we could activate EMS and have them transported."

As to what type of medical issues are common with patients at the UCC, Stewart said it’s typically "injury-related incidents." He added, "we're seeing a lot of patients coming that have potential broken bones, and those are requiring X-ray[s]. We're [also] seeing patients who have a cut [and] that is requiring sutures or stitching."

Depending on the season, Stewart said, that can shift what kind of health issues patients are dealing with. For example, in the winter, there are more patients dealing with a cough or shortness of breath, so the UCC deals with more respiratory symptoms.

On top of injuries, the UCC has supported nearly 800 patients who were dealing with mental health or drug addictions.

Stewart spoke about the mental health and addiction side of the facility and what it offers.

"So within that mental health and addictions area, there are additional nurses with expert training in mental health care and as well as we have some other supports in place for patients that are really helping link patients to resources within the community, whether those are within some community programs [or] access to the Regina Mental Health Clinic [and] working with Regina Detox Centre."

Depending on whether a patient is having an acute crisis, they could be sent over to an inpatient bed in the hospital or even see a psychiatrist.

Stewart was also asked if the number of patients needing mental health and drug addiction support has gone up month-over-month since the UCC opened.

He said, "So far, we've seen a little bit of variation [for people requiring mental health and drug addiction support], but we haven't seen too much [fluctuation]."

A big reason the UCC is able to treat its patients is the donations they received from the Hospitals of Regina Foundation.

The non-profit group donated around $2.4 million "for all the furniture fixtures and equipment, said Stewart. "So it's a big support for things like X-ray machines, our [Electrocardiograms] (ECG) machines, ultrasound, all those important pieces of equipment that [then] we were able to [use to] then provide services on-site."

Opening 24-7

The Sask. Party originally stated that the Regina UCC would be open 24-7. When the UCC first opened in July, its hours were from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The provincial government said the centre would open 24-7 in the fall, but that never came to be.

Criticism came from the NDP, with Opposition Rural and Remote Health Critic Meara Conway, who said the Sask Party "broke their promise" and walked "back on their initial commitment."

Stewart addressed a question about the matter. He said the UCC has had to adjust their staffing levels to meet the higher demand of patients, and "we're working really closely with the SHA as well with the Ministry of Health to really look at our current utilization of the Urgent Care Centre and then what future planning would be if we were going to expand."

He also mentioned looking at improving or optimizing the services that UCC utilizes, including ECGs and X-rays.

With the information the Regina UCC has, they have been working closely with the Saskatoon UCC branch that's currently undergoing construction.

The facility will include councillors trained by the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology to deal with mental health and drug addictions.

Construction is expected to be completed by spring 2026.

 

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