Since enacting an action plan for dealing with over capacity issues at hospitals in Saskatoon and Regina late last year, the Saskatchewan Health Authority says more than 156 new Full Time Equivalent staff have been hired and 206 new beds are being added. The SHA is working on the recruitment of another 290 FTE staff in the two cities, including 107 nurses.

CEO Andrew Will says having more beds means being able to transition patients from acute care to appropriate care settings. The Health Ministry provided $30 million in the budget announced yesterday (Wed) to help with the action plan. In Saskatoon specifically, 84 long-term care beds will be added by mid-June. Seventy-five convalescent care beds were added earlier, for a total of 159 beds in community settings. Regina has the other 47.

A news release from the SHA says through a collaboration with the Saskatoon Tribal Council, more than 650 patients from St. Paul’s Hospital were diverted to other primary care or shelter locations from mid-December through to the end of January.