'Hit a critical point': SHA to temporarily slow elective procedures in Sask.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority's (SHA) Emergency Operations Centre directed leaders and care teams to move to a second phase of surge plans that include a temporary slowdown of elective procedures province-wide Friday.
The SHA said the move is the result of "rapidly escalating" COVID-19 pressures on hospitals in Saskatchewan.
"We have hit a critical point, and are now on the verge of the largest test our health care system has faced since this pandemic began," SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said in a release. "Teams are being asked to support the health care system’s ability to maintain services to those at greatest risk, while ensuring the SHA can support testing and contact tracing to help slow the spread of COVID-19."
The directive asks health care teams to focus on COVID-19 care while continuing to support emergency and cancer procedures and treatments deemed urgent in the next six weeks.
The SHA said with support from the province's emergency order issued earlier this week, staff will be deployed to provide relief to areas facing urgent and emergent care demands in recent weeks and escalate capacity to meet "rapidly surging demand".
On a media call Friday, Livingstone said the cases currently in ICU are people who were infected two weeks ago, as hospitalizations and ICU admissions are "lagging measures".
"We’re not at the peak yet and we’re not sure when the peak will occur but we do see the cases coming down the road over the next two to four weeks and we are primed and prepared," Livingstone said.
The directive will see the number of ICU beds increase up to 175 from 79 to accomodate a new projection of 125 COVID ICU patients and maintain capacity for as many as 50 non-COVID ICU patients.
Those with affected booked procedures will be contacted and the SHA said it's working on criteria to establish what proceudres will be temporarily paused.
Implementation of the surge plan will occur over the coming days with impact to patients starting next week, according to the health authority. The plans will include patient transfers and individuals may be transferred to facilties that may not match their preference or closest to their home.
"The pressure on our hospitals is a direct result of the ongoing pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Livingstone said. “The result is that many Saskatchewan residents will now go without the health services they need to preserve their quality of life. If you are eligible, please get vaccinated. To do otherwise is to risk making a choice for all Saskatchewan residents about whether the emergency and critical services will be there for them when they need it."
With files from CTV News Regina's Allison Bamford
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.