Wednesday the NDP issued a news release saying the government will allow rural emergency rooms to remain open as long as there is one registered nurse working on-site. They say the information was based on a leaked memo, which has yet to be furnished to our newsroom.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority says earlier this month on November 5th, the SHA Work Standard on Logging a Service Disruption changed. Which means a service disruption has to be reported if nursing resources fall below having two professional nursing staff available with one being a Registered Nurse. So technically the NDP claims are correct, but they don’t mention that there also has to be either a Licensed Practical Nurse or an Advanced or Primary Care Paramedic on site as well.

Starting this week the SHA is now reporting emergency service disruptions on their website.

In an emailed statement, the Saskatchewan Health Authority also says, “there have been no changes to the clinical standards that define the nursing resources required to operate emergency services. The SHA points to its Clinical Procedure for the Management of Emergency Department and Acute Care Inpatient Service Disruptions in Community and District Hospitals which states that for the provision of emergency department services, “a minimum of one Registered Nurse (RN) should be available on site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” That resource was last updated April 2024.