Diagnostic testing pilot aims to help stabilize rural emergency departments

A pilot program is bringing point-of-care testing equipment to two communities in southwestern Saskatchewan in an effort to help stabilize emergency departments in rural parts of the province.

According to Saskatchewan’s health ministry, the new testing equipment was recently introduced in hospitals in Maple Creek and Leader, allowing certain diagnostic tests to be performed by nurses or other trained staff members when regular lab services aren’t available. Among other things, the tests can determine if a patient immediately requires antibiotics, the ministry said, and can determine if a patient need to be transported to another facility for serious issues such as a heart attack.

Leader and Maple Creek will each get three new pieces of the testing equipment, the ministry added, meaning qualified staff members can perform hemoglobin tests, white blood cell counts and troponin tests (which indicate cardiac issues) when lab staff aren’t available.

The testing takes place on site, and often delivers results in less than a half hour.

Dr. Johann Roodt, the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s physician executive for integrated rural health, said the technology has proven itself to be useful, and introducing the equipment to rural emergency departments will go a long way.

“This equipment allows health-care providers and physicians to make prompt decisions, making it extremely helpful in situations where there is a need for rapid results affecting critical patient care in the emergency room in the temporary absence of lab staff,” Roodt said in a statement.

Doug Steele, MLA for Cypress Hills, said bringing more stability to emergency services in rural Saskatchewan is a priority for the provincial government.

“This innovative testing equipment is a valuable tool that will assist health-care teams in rural emergency departments to acquire diagnostic information in critical situations and provide safe continuous care to patients,” Steele added in a statement.

The ministry noted that it is offering positions for laboratory and x-ray technicians “across the province.”