Regina Urgent Care Centre adjusting through first weeks

The Saskatchewan Health Authority says the new Regina Urgent Care Centre is helping reduce pressure on both of Regina’s emergency rooms, though it’s still too early to quantify.

Thomas Stewart, the health authority’s executive director of acute care in Regina, said wait times are improving at both emergency departments as the urgent care centre on Albert Street comes online and reduces demand. Stewart couldn’t say exactly how much wait times have reduced, noting that it’s something the health authority will monitor, but it’s too early to tell right now.

On Wednesday, the health authority marked six weeks since the urgent care centre opened. In that time, it said the centre has seen 4,400 patients, with 179 looking for mental health and addiction help, 256 who were connected to resources in the community, and 320 who were transferred to hospitals for a higher level of care.

At the centre itself, Stewart said wait times can range between one and four hours, depending on the type and severity of the issue a patient has. He said the centre sees high demand in the mornings, right as it opens for the day at 8 a.m.

“We’ve seen, sometimes, a bit of a lineup of five to 10 people who are coming in the first 10 minutes that it’s open, and so that is quite a demand to get those patients registered and triaged,” he explained.

Stewart said the centre has moved employees around and put in some different workflows to help reduce the time those patients are waiting.

There also appears to be a bit of a logjam at the end of the day in the hours before the centre closes at 9:30 p.m. Stewart explained there has been a high demand for the centre, and staff want to make sure everyone who’s registered is seen before it closes for the day.

“If we aren’t going to be able to see them within the hours that the centre is open – during normal business hours – we will then either direct those patients to either one of the emergency departments if they’re needing to seek care that day, or certainly they could follow up with a family doctor or come to the centre again when it opens the next day,” explained Stewart.

When the centre opened at the beginning of July it was not fully staffed. Stewart said the health authority is still hiring and training for the current positions, noting that they’ve already seen some turnover.

The health authority is ultimately aiming to have the centre open 24-7 to give people with non-life-threatening problems a place to go besides the hospital. Stewart the authority is working to expand the hours in the fall, but couldn’t give a specific date.