SHA Introduces New Notification Process for Emergency Services Disruptions
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is implementing an updated emergency service disruption process to provide accurate, reliable information about the availability of emergency services across the province. Starting in early November, all emergency service disruptions, regardless of their length, will be posted publicly on the SHA website, with updates occurring daily at 4:00 p.m., seven days a week.
“The SHA is committed to providing patients, families and communities with reliable and accurate information about the availability of emergency services, and we acknowledge frustrations from patients and communities about our current reporting process” said Derek Miller, Chief Operating Officer of the SHA. “These changes will ensure that accurate and reliable information about service availability will be consistently available to the public while our teams work to restore emergency services impacted by temporary disruptions.”
The SHA makes every effort to maintain emergency services by securing staff and physician coverage wherever possible. Temporary disruptions are only implemented as a last resort and may be caused by staff or physician vacancies, unplanned absences, scheduled vacations, or facility and equipment upgrades.
Once activated in early November, the SHA’s new service disruption reporting process will provide patients with an alphabetical listing of all SHA facilities experiencing disruptions to emergency services, updated daily at 4:00 pm. Currently, the SHA posts service disruptions of seven days or more. Disruptions to emergency services will also be reflected on individual Facility & Location pages on the SHA’s website. To support this updated process, the SHA has implemented several internal process improvements to improve accuracy of reported data and provide enhanced support to SHA team members who are reporting local service disruptions.
As changes to services availability can occur on short notice, not all disruptions may appear on the service disruption web page immediately. When this happens, signage is posted at the affected facility, and the information will be reflected in the next daily update. Healthline 811, operated by the SHA, will have real-time information regarding the availability of emergency services across the province. Patients and residents are able to call Healthline 811 at any time for advice regarding service availability, or for health guidance from Registered Nurses and other qualified health professionals. Following implementation of this updated process, the SHA will be continuing system improvements with a goal of providing real-time, public updates regarding the status of emergency service disruptions.
The SHA remains committed to providing patients, families, and communities with clear and timely information about emergency care. To strengthen emergency services in rural and remote areas, the SHA has implemented several initiatives, including the Virtual Physician Program, Point-of-Care Testing, and ongoing health-care human resource strategies.
In any life-threatening emergency, always call 9-1-1. Paramedics will assess, treat, and transport patients to the nearest available site for further medical attention.
