Request for proposal issued for additional hip and knee surgeries: SHA

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), along with the Ministry of Health, have issued a request for proposal (RFP) to provide a centre for additional hip and knee surgeries in Regina.

The RFP will begin the process to find potential third parties to provide up to 3,000 elective orthopedic surgeries per year.

Minister of Health, Paul Merriman, said issuing the RFP will help tackle the waitlist.

"Our surgical numbers are still at a high amount. This was something that we announced in the budget that we were going to increase our surgical capacity up to 97,000 this year which included all surgeries," he said.

The details of the RFP include a stand-alone surgery facility focused on orthopedics, increasing bed capacity for in-patient joint replacements, and day surgery procedures.

It will be the first privately owned health care facility in the province with operating rooms and patient beds for extended stays.

The nurses union and the NDP worry that hospital staff will move as well.

“Taking workers from the public system is, I’m afraid it’s going to make things worse,” said NDP leader Carla Beck.

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The government anticipates doctors and nurses will move but will accomplish more in a private facility.

“It’s the same doctors, it’s the same staff. It’s just more efficient to be able to go through those privately run facilities as they don’t have that large administration,” Merriman said.

This is a further departure from publicly operated health care to a for profit model. The government said patients won’t have to worry about the cost because it will be covered by Medicare.

There are currently around 8,000 patients in Saskatchewan waiting for joint replacements, and the SHA said projections show the demand for orthopedic surgeries in the province will rise.

“Our surgical teams are dedicated to working through a number of challenges to address the surgical waitlist,” Vice President of Integrated Urban Health and Chief Nursing Officer for SHA, Sharon Garratt said in a news release.

The submission deadline is 2 p.m. on Sept. 12, and it is anticipated that services will be available on or before Dec. 31, 2023.

More information on the process and timelines of the RFP can be found on the SaskTenders website.