SHA creating ‘go teams’ to handle Omicron hospitalization surge

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) updated its COVID-19 surge plan Thursday with an expected case surge and increase in staff isolation due to the Omicron variant looming.

The plan includes five strategies the health authority hopes will keep Saskatchewan hospitals operating as normally as possible.

First is the creation of “go teams,” medical professionals who can quickly move and situate themselves where they are needed to keep key services running across the province.

The health authority will also optimize care capacity for acute and emergency flow, maintain its improvements for emergency services used in previous COVID-19 waves, and cross-train staff to work in multiple areas should they be asked to.

Other parts of the five-step strategy include utilizing “supplemental workforce teams” and deadline-driven, targeted slowdowns when and where they should be required.

“This proactive plan would be implemented in the event the province was to experience a significant increase in acute care patients at hospitals, or if the health-care system faced potential staffing shortages in a situation where large numbers of health-care providers were required to self-isolate due to COVID,” read a media release from the authority.

“The plan would ensure human resources are available to step up capacity in phases as demand escalates.”

The SHA said the surge plan will ensure any impacts to services are as short and targeted as possible.

“As we scale up to meet the increased demand due to Omicron, we know it will impact our health-care teams,” Derek Miller, the interim CEO of the SHA, said in the release.

“These strategies will help protect our ability to deliver essential lifesaving supports for those most in need, ensure any effects on services are as temporary as possible and position us to rapidly and safely return services to normal as pressures subside.”

Miller said more staff have been unable to come to work due to illness.

Over this past week, about 1,000 people took time off for that reason.

“Certainly it is having an impact on our system,” Miller said.

Compared to the province’s fourth wave, the amount of staff away from work sick is about 140 per cent higher.

“In the last week, we have seen increases in health care worker absenteeism due to COVID,” Miller said, adding that the SHA is monitoring those numbers and illnesses.

With those staff illnesses, the surge plan in place is expected to help. Miller also mentioned options like relying on casual workers, offering overtime hours and allowing some teams to work short-staffed to deal with any shortage of health care workers in the coming weeks.

“That does strain our teams in terms of delivering their services,” Miller admitted.

“We’re keen to make sure that has as minimal an impact as possible on service delivery.”