A relatively unheralded part of Saskatchewan’s health care system recently passed a service milestone.

HealthLine 811 has been in operation for more than 20 years, the first call taken in August of 2003. It is a confidential, 24-hour health, mental health and addictions advice, education and support telephone line available to the people in the province.

It is staffed by more than 100 experienced and specially trained registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and registered social workers. In 2022, HealthLine 811 received 119-thousand, 254 calls – more than 300 per day on average. Of those, about 30 per cent were for youth under 19 years of age with 473 referrals to the maternal wellness program. During its 20 years of service, HealthLine 811 has played a pivotal role in health emergencies – such as the West Nile and Avian flu outbreaks in 2004, H-1-N-1 in 2009, Zika virus in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic.