There has been concern recently in regard to hospital service disruptions in communities such as Radville.

Trevor Tessier, Director of Primary Health Care for Weyburn and area, explained that it's a provincial and national issue and isn't isolated by any means to Radville.

"There are provincial implications and national implications to that. What I would like to point focus to is the work Radville has done to hire and recruit nurses. So in 2023, Radville has done significant work to hire a number of nurses to have a full complement."

Tessier said that unforeseen leave like sick time puts pressure on the system which can lead to some of the service disruptions.

"Speaking from a physician point-of-view, we did have one physician go off, and with that has had us on our team using locums to help cover those gaps, and we work in combination with Emmanuel Health from a physician and nursing perspective to have pre-planned disruptions while we actively recruit for a new physician in Radville."

He said with the health human resources action plan that the Saskatchewan government has put out, it has incentivized workers at a good level and has brought in a number of physicians to our rural areas.

"And, you know, Weyburn, Radville, and some of our home care teams have experienced more staff due to that health human resources action plan and it's helped across the province as well."

Tessier explained that they are down one physician in Radville, with two of the three spots being filled, "so we do still expect planned service disruptions from a physician service perspective." 

There are also selected sites in the Weyburn area that Tessier said have been slated for international recruitment, but he couldn't speak to specifics at this time. As well, he said in regards to ambulance services, Primary Health Care and EMS services will still "continue to advocate for more services such as Community Paramedicine or additional EMS services in Radville, and we hope to continue to advocate at our levels for Radville." 

From an emergency room perspective, Tessier said that there are still service disruptions, but in terms of clinic access, it is still very good with a number of same-day appointments or next-day appointments due to their ability to get locums there, and working with the team to still promote significant access from a primary healthcare clinic perspective.

If someone has a fracture, for example, Tessier said that his first recommendation is to go to the clinic if it's within daytime office hours. "That is something our primary care physician can help you with and organize services and support for that individual. Obviously, if it's outside of office hours when the emergency room is open, go there and then you'll get support, and when not, please call 911 for support or go to your nearest emergency, whether that be Weyburn or Regina."

Tessier reminded everyone that they have been putting out lots of public notices around Radville to make sure the community is informed about service disruptions. 

"I just wanted to send a heartfelt thank-you to all the staff who continue to show up and who continue to serve Radville and area." 

For those interested in joining the team or getting involved in healthcare, they can check out healthcareersinsask.ca