Plan in place to reopen Wolseley Hospital

January 9, 2023, 9:55 am

With ongoing progress on the provincial Health Human Resources Plan, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is moving forward on a phased service resumption plan aimed at fully restoring acute and emergency services in Wolseley.

“Our highest priority as an organization is to recruit and retain the required health care personnel to stabilize and enhance services in every corner of our province, supporting access to care as close to home as possible,” said Andrew Will, CEO of SHA.

“I recently met with community leaders in Wolseley. I am thankful for their patience and support as we have worked through staffing challenges, targeting specific recruitment initiatives to attract key health care personnel to Wolseley, and hearing ideas from staff about how we can adapt our strategies to more quickly resume services.”

One of the innovative solutions identified by local team members was the proposal to re-open emergency services in one wing of the long-term care facility rather than its regular space. This creative solution will enable the partial re-opening of emergency services earlier than was previously thought possible by creating efficiencies between the emergency department staff and the long-term care staff through the co-location of services.

This physical relocation will be temporary until recruitment initiatives enable the full restoration of emergency services in its normal space. Co-location will not impact long-term care services currently provided.

The target date for full resumption of emergency and acute care services at Wolseley will depend on successful recruitment of appropriate staffing. The SHA is actively recruiting to address staff shortages in many areas including Diagnostic Services and Nursing.

“The SHA is committed to fully restoring emergency and acute care services in Wolseley and to engaging with community leaders at each phase of this process,” said Will. “Thank you to the community of Wolseley and surrounding area for your patience, understanding and ongoing support.”

In the event of an emergency, please call 911. Residents with questions regarding their health or mental health may call HealthLine 811 for professional advice, which is available 24 hours/day.


The following four phases are being used as a framework for increasing emergency room (ER) services in Wolseley as appropriate personnel are recruited and on-boarded to provide services:

Phase 1 – Partial ER Resumption – Date dependent on recruitment
In-person Physician coverage Monday-Friday
Hours of ER operation: 8:30 am-4 pm, Monday to Friday
Requires one Registered Nurse (RN) and one Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)

Phase 2 – Extend ER hours using virtual care – date dependent on recruitment, virtual care rollout
In-person Physician coverage Monday to Friday
Weekend Physician coverage virtual with Indian Head
Hours of ER operation: 8:30am-4pm, seven days/week
Requires two RNs and two LPNs

Phase 3 – Continue to increase ER services
In-person Physician coverage Monday to Friday
Weekend and evening Physician coverage virtual with Indian Head
Hours of ER operation: 0830-7:30 pm, seven days/week
Requires three RN and three LPNs

Phase 4 – Resumption of Acute Care and Emergency Services
Acute care/observation beds resume operation
Weekend, evening and night emergency physician coverage virtual from Indian Head
Requires 5 RNs and 5 LPNs