Sick doctors mean hospital emergency department will close early Dec. 31

Saskatoon City Hospital’s emergency department will close early on New Year’s Eve because of physician illness.

Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said in a news release on Monday that the emergency department, usually open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., would close at 6 p.m. on Dec 31.

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Regular hours will resume on Jan, 1, the SHA added.

Anyone needing emergency department services after 6 p.m. should go to Royal University Hospital or St. Paul’s Hospital Emergency Department and people with non-emergency medical concerns can call HealthLine 811 or visit a walk-in clinic. Some pharmacies “may remain open” to assist with minor health needs, the SHA said.

Saskatchewan NDP said recently that one solution to the problem of Saskatoon hospital’s operating at overcapacity was to keep the emergency room at City Hospital open for 24 hours.

St. Paul’s Hospital has been operating at 200 per cent overcapacity since the beginning of October, while Royal University Hospital has been operating at 300 per cent overcapacity in the same time period, NDP health critic Vicki Mowat said.

An urgent care centre to be built at 215 Avenue S South, near St. Paul’s Hospital to help relieve some of the pressure on emergency departments Work  is expected to have “substantial completion of construction” by the spring of 2026.

The design for the centre was adapted from the urgent care centre in Regina — the province’s first such facility — which opened its doors on July 2. According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the $18.7 million facility has seen an average of 110 patients per day since it opened.

Read more:

• Health-care costs will rise significantly as population ages: Report
• Oxbow residents, staff frustrated health centre can’t treat acute care patients