Temporary emergency department closures anticipated, doctors and nurses demand more from government

Saskatchewan physicians and nurses are banding together to call on the provincial government for greater action to combat rising COVID-19 numbers in Saskatchewan.

In a joint release Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) demanded more be done to slow the fourth wave of the pandemic in the province.

Record-high COVID-19 case numbers are exhausting health-care workers and straining hospital capacities and resources. In a release Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said new highs were seen in COVID-19 admissions to both intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU settings this week.

Health-care staff are being redeployed to critical care areas and other required COVID-19 services as a result of “unprecedented hospitalization rates,” according to the release.

Overall hospitalizations and admissions to ICU due to COVID-19 reportedly tripled over the past month in the province.

Saskatchewan COVID-19 data, according to the SHA, shows that unvaccinated people are six times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than a fully vaccinated person. Someone who is unvaccinated is also five times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19.

Derek Miller, SHA’s EOC commander said staff are anticipating surges still in the coming days and weeks and some communities will see disruptions to hospital services, including temporary emergency department closures.

The SMA and SUN want to see the government enact the following measures:

• Reinstated limits on indoor gatherings for private and public events,
• Daily, community-level public reporting that indicates percentage of population who are partially and fully vaccinated by age groups as well as case counts, hospitalizations and ICU admissions, and
• Sufficient contact tracing with appropriately trained staff to ensure rapid case detection and to limit community spread, which is being said to have been left currently in the hands of those who have tested positive for COVID-19.

“Mask mandates and vaccination requirements are essential but are not enough against the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant,” said SMA president Dr. Eden Strydom. “With the approach of colder weather, gatherings will move indoors, creating the potential for surges in cases.”

Tracy Zambory, SUN president, said without indoor gathering limits, people will die.

“Registered nurses are disheartened to see preventable hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19. They are upset. They are weary. I have heard their stories borne of anger, frustration, and fear for their patients. The government cannot ignore the pleas of the province’s health care community any longer.”

The SMA and SUN are also calling for more transparency from the government and wants to see modelling of COVID-19 projections made public.

“Modelling information should be widely available as it is essential for physicians to proactively plan and respond to an ever-changing environment,” Strydom said.

Physicians and nurses also want to see routine and regular reporting of vaccination data at the local level and more details than daily updates currently provide.