Saskatoon City Hospital to add 109 acute care beds and hire new staff amid doctor shortages

The Saskatchewan government announced $15 million in new funding Thursday to increase acute care capacity at Saskatoon City Hospital. In a news release Friday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said the money will help add 109 acute care beds to ease pressure on health-care services in the city.

The hospital's emergency room has been closing early since at least Feb. 15 due to a shortage of doctors. Usually open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. CST, the emergency department has been closing more than two hours early, according to SHA.

"We know that health human resources is certainly a challenge in Saskatchewan and across the country," SHA CEO Andrew Will said at a news conference in Saskatoon Friday morning.

"We're confident that the positions here at Saskatoon City Hospital will be attractive for staff and [are] looking to recruit people into these positions as we proceed through the four phases of implementing the 109 beds," he said.

SHA said the money will increase acute capacity for patients accessing services from across the province by 14 per cent. The move follows a previous commitment from the Saskatchewan government of $30 million in the 2024-25 budget to address capacity challenges in Saskatoon and Regina.

"These efforts have already resulted in the addition of more than 380 full-time equivalent positions and over 220 long-term care, transitional care, convalescent care, and acute care beds in Saskatoon and Regina," the SHA said in the news release.

The expansion will happen over the next 12 to 16 months, with plans to add 22 acute rehabilitation beds, 12 acquired brain injury beds, 60 inpatient general medicine beds, and 15 high acuity beds.

"If we can transition the on-average 55 patients that are waiting for acute care beds into those beds, it's going to create a better experience for our patients and families," Will said. "It's also going to create a better work environment that supports recruitment and retention of physicians and other staff as well."

SHA said it will hire a total of 500 new staff and physicians, while also making necessary renovations to accommodate the extra beds.