SHA sending health workers back to home communities

Ambulatory care should be back in community hospitals this Friday

November 9, 2021, 8:12 pm

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has set goals to resume as many services as possible as new Covid cases continue to decline in the province.

There were 100 new cases Monday and 86 new cases across the province Tuesday, down to just a fraction of the 717 new cases October 6, at the height of the fourth wave.

The timeline for transition will be as follows:

By November 12, 50 per cent of eligible staff who have been redeployed will return to their home positions and ambulatory services will resume at community hospitals

By Nov. 19, 75 per cent of eligible staff who have been redeployed will return to their home positions.

By November 26, at least 90 per cent of eligible staff who have been redeployed will return to their home positions.

Eligibility will be based on ensuring the process of returning staff back to their home positions does not have an impact on those SHA redeployments that are directly supporting ICUs, certain acute care services, critical care in hospitals and vaccine delivery programs. Those redeployments will remain in place.

Staff deployed to contact tracing, test and assessment, outbreak management and other areas not supporting ICU/acute or vaccination campaign are eligible for redeployment.

The SHA, Ministry of Health, and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency will continue working through the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) to identify support available for testing, contact tracing and other areas of potential need.

The SHA’s local Integrated Health Incident Command Centre’s for each SHA Service Area have received direction on these targets and are leading this work.

Through the PEOC, the SHA along with its partners will continue to closely monitor COVID- 19 trends within the province, and will adjust as necessary to ensure the health and safety of patients, residents, staff and physicians. Flexibility to meet any future COVID surges is required to maintain an effective pandemic response.