Health authority adding security staff to facilities in five more Saskatchewan communities

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is adding contracted security staff to facilities in La Loche, Melfort, Moose Jaw, Nipawin and Swift Current.

Starting next month, protective services workers with the Corps of Commissionaires will begin working at health-care facilities in those communities in an effort to improve safety for both patients and staff.

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“The safety of Saskatchewan Health Authority patients and their families, employees, physicians, volunteers, and our communities is our top priority,” Rod MacKenzie, the health authority’s executive director of provincial clinical and support services, said in a statement.

The health authority first used contracted security providers on a trial basis in Prince Albert, North Battleford and Lloydminster last year, and the success they saw in responding to violent incidents led the health authority to make the move permanent in those communities while also planning an expansion to other centres around the province.

“These measures are about prevention and protection,” said Vince Ashmeade, the health authority’s director of protective services and emergency management.

“Health-care workers deserve to feel safe in their workplace, and patients should feel secure when accessing care.”

The health authority noted that it is still participating in an external review of protective services proposals, describing the review as “an important step to strengthen safety across the system.”