Sask. Health Authority working on service resumption plan, masking policy

Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone said the drop in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and the increase in vaccinations, has the SHA preparing to catch up on services delayed by the pandemic.

"We are working with the Ministry of Health to see what COVID services we need to maintain long-term. We know we have to live with COVID as they change the terminology from pandemic to endemic."

Livingstone said the SHA knows it will need to increase non-COVID care for residents while still offering COVID-19 testing and tracing, and continuing to administer vaccinations.

"We're working on a service resumption plan for all services. A lot of everyday health-care services we delayed or slowed down," Livingstone said Wednesday.

Livingstone spoke at an SHA board meeting Wednesday afternoon.

He told members the SHA had met some significant vaccination markers recently.

As of Wednesday, 310,000-second doses had been administered, and more than one million overall.

The SHA booked a record 28,000 vaccination appointments in one day, and 75 per cent of those over age 30 have had one dose, he said.

Livingstone said the SHA is aiming to reach 70 per cent of eligible people having second doses by mid-July.

"We will continue to see pop-up clinics and targeted clinics. We are just working with the Ministry of Health on the SHA's long-term role in vaccinations."

He said pharmacies and community partners would be picking up more vaccinations in the future.

Livingstone said the health authority would be keeping vaccination teams ready for:

• Those still needing shots.
• Potential COVID-19 booster shots.
• Vaccinating children under 12 if a vaccine is approved in the months ahead.

He said the SHA would have the ability to "gear back up" to offer care if COVID-19 numbers and hospitalizations rise, as it has done throughout the pandemic.

"We know there are going to be outbreaks," Livingstone said.

The need to 'catch-up'

Livingstone said the SHA would be presenting its resumption of service plan to the provincial government in the next few weeks.

"We know there are lots of catch-ups."

He said the SHA has done its best to offer as many services as possible throughout the last 15 months. 

Livingstone said many health-care workers who transitioned to COVID-19 response will be returning to their regular duties, but exact numbers are still being determined.

On Wednesday the SHA board approved its $4.36 billion operating budget for 2021-22 and its $159 million capital expenditures plan.

The Ministry of Health is providing $90 million in "one-time" funding for COVID-19 response for 2021-22. 

The SHA said it had "higher than usual expenditures on staff compensation, personal protective equipment, and other related supplies and infrastructure."

The provincial government also provided the SHA with $373 million in additional funding in 2020-21 to address the pandemic.

As far as needing more to ramp up health care-services or to catch up on delayed procedures, Livingstone said that will depend on what can get done. 

"I don't believe we're going to see a requirement for us to spend a significant amount of money."

He said the SHA could ask for money from the government to offer extended hours for services if it needs to "escalate" the catch-up.

Health protocols for reopening being determined

Livingstone said with public health restrictions set to be removed on July 11, the SHA is discussing what health protocols will be in place at their facilities.

"We're not quite sure what [July 11] means at our health facilities."

He said the SHA was the first "to bring in masking" in its facilities in 2020.

Livingstone said it was "not unlikely" the SHA will require masking in areas where there have been COVID-19 outbreaks or high-risk aerosol-generating procedures, and for units with immune-compromised patients, for example.

He said it was "important to maintain infection controls."