"Emergency room" by KOMUnews is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The Saskatchewan Party voted down the NDP’s Bill 606 in the Legislature Thursday which was the Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure Right-to-Know) Amendment Act, at third reading.

However, the Saskatchewan government then issued a news release saying residents are to get status updates sooner on whether emergency rooms in their local hospitals are closed.

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill says starting May 19, emergency service disruptions are to be posted online with daily updates at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Previously, updates were only provided daily at 4 p.m. and often the closure had come about but it wasn’t posted on the website so residents would find out their emergency department wasn’t available only by going there only to have to seek other options.

Cockrill says residents can check their emergency room status on the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s website or by calling 811. The NDP wants to see real time updates but the Health Minister says that is not possible at this time.