Saskatoon City Hospital ER hours restricted once again

Saskatoon City Hospital’s emergency department has once again extended its adjusted hours, this time until March 9, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said in a news release on Friday.

On Feb 14, the SHA said the ER hours would be reduced from Feb. 15 to Feb. 23, “based on physician availability” and then said on Feb. 21 the hours were extended until March 2 for the same reason.

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The hospital’s emergency department, usually open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., would close at 6 p.m. on those dates.

The SHA said in the Feb. 28 release it “continues to take action to ensure consistent access to health-care services.”

Anyone needing emergency department services after 6 p.m. should go to Royal University Hospital or St. Paul’s Hospital Emergency Department and people with non-emergency medical concerns can call HealthLine 811 or visit a walk-in clinic.

There was an outage of HealthLine 811 for just over 30 minutes on Feb. 22, something the NDP called “unacceptable.

The 811 line is used to help people seeking advice on whether they should go to an emergency department, and is also used for people seeking mental health and addictions advice. It is staffed by experienced and specially trained Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and Registered Social Workers.

Some pharmacies “may remain open” to assist with minor health needs, the SHA said.

The ER at the central city hospital was previously closed on Dec. 31, 2024 because of physician illness.

Saskatchewan NDP said last year that one solution to the problem of Saskatoon hospital’s operating at overcapacity was to keep the emergency room at City Hospital open for 24 hours.

St. Paul’s Hospital has been operating at 200 per cent overcapacity since the beginning of October, while Royal University Hospital has been operating at 300 per cent overcapacity in the same time period, NDP health critic Vicki Mowat said.

An urgent care centre to be built at 215 Avenue S South, near St. Paul’s Hospital to help relieve some of the pressure on emergency departments Work is expected to have “substantial completion of construction” by the spring of 2026.

The design for the centre was adapted from the urgent care centre in Regina — the province’s first such facility — which opened its doors on July 2. According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the $18.7 million facility has seen an average of 110 patients per day since it opened.

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