Battlefords Union Hospital. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Looking for answers

NDP concerned about Intensive Care Unit bypass at Battlefords Union Hospital

Dec 3, 2023 | 5:00 PM

The Saskatchewan NDP are concerned following a leaked memo that indicated the Battlefords Union Hospital was among several facilities put on bypass for their Intensive Care Units.

The first leaked Sask Party government memo reveals that, as of November 29, critical care in Saskatoon, Yorkton, and Moose Jaw continued to be on bypass, and critical care in North Battleford was put on bypass. Regina was also at risk due to capacity issues. The situations were to be reassessed after 24 hours.

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), a hospital could experience a bypass, redirecting a patient to an alternate hospital, when there is no bed available in a unit due to a bed not being available because all the beds full, or when there is not adequate staffing to have all the beds open on any given day or week.

The SHA noted the bypass is not impacting the Emergency Room, only the Intensive Care Units.

The Battlefords constituency NDP candidate, Tom Kroczynski, is upset about the bypass issue on three fronts – the lack of transparency, a lack of planning, as he sees it, and the cost factor.

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“The most frustrating thing is the [Sask Party] government is not being transparent about these closures or these limitations and services,” he told battlefordsNOW. “If you go on the Sask Health Authority’s website, you can’t find any mention of these closures. You can search North Battleford there, but you don’t get any information. That’s kind of odd.”

Kroczynski added it’s frustrating the NDP is the one to reveal this information, received through leaked memos, rather than the government saying: “I’m sorry we have to limit services.”

He added there is also a lack of foresight on the government’s part.

“I didn’t realize that this has happened here in the Battlefords more than once in the last couple of years…,” Kroczynski said. “It puts everybody on edge knowing that we don’t have all services operating at full capacity at the hospital right now.”

He added the SHA should be prepared for this time of year when the flu and Covid are surging again.

“If you know this is going to happen, then you can prevent it,” Kroczynski said. “You can try and move staff around and, I assume, you have a plan in place for when things like this happen.”

The SHA said in a statement Dec. 1 some SHA facilities are currently experiencing high patient demand for critical care, in part due to respiratory illnesses such as influenza and COVID.

“Provincial coordination of adult intensive services allows Intensive Care Units (ICUs), which may not have available capacity at a given time, to safely direct patients needing intensive care by ambulance to another ICU site with capacity,” the SHA said. “It is important to note that ‘bypass’ does not mean the facility, or a department/unit is closed. A facility with an ICU on ‘bypass’ continues to accept patients at these facilities who are not ICU bound, including patient visits to emergency departments. Anyone that needs medical care will continue to receive care.”

The SHA added it encourages all patients with urgent and emergent medical concerns to access emergency health services at a hospital emergency department or by dialing 911.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsnow