Given staffing limitations in health care, Saskatchewan’s health minister says operating urgent care centres 24/7 is no longer the priority.
“People want urgent care services in their community, so what our focus has shifted to, instead of focusing just solely on staffing one facility 24/7, we want to staff and open up more facilities around the province,” Jeremy Cockrill said while in Saskatoon on Tuesday at an event marking that a new urgent care centre in the city is one-quarter complete.
When it’s complete, the new care centre will help alleviate pressure on emergency rooms by offering care for minor illnesses and injuries, as well as support for mental health and addictions.
Regina’s urgent care centre opened last year and sees, on average, 112 patients a day. It was supposed to operate 24/7, but has been open only during daytime hours.
The province plans to open three regional urgent care centres in Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and North Battleford. It will also open a second urgent care centre in both Regina and Saskatoon.
“When we look at the numbers of presentations at Regina General and Regina Pasqua emergency rooms overnight, the numbers don’t necessarily justify an urgent care centre being open 24/7,” Cockrill said.
“In a time of limited staffing resources, we want to focus on where it’s going to have the greatest patient impact. Those are the daytime hours, those 8 a.m to 9:30 p.m,” he said.
The Regina Urgent Care Centre temporarily reduced its operating hours for a weekend in July, citing physician staffing issues, and is typically open from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. CST every day.
The new Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre is being built on the former Pleasant Hill School site at 215 Ave. S South, near St. Paul’s Hospital.
The province says the new urgent care centre is expected to be complete in fall 2026. (Aishwarya Dudha/CBC)
Once construction is complete, the facility will be operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority through a long-term lease agreement with Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments.
The province said completion of the facility is anticipated in fall 2026.
“The Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre is more than a facility; it is a commitment to reconciliation and long-term system improvement,” Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments CEO Jay Ahenakew Funk said in a news release.
“It directly responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action in health, and it demonstrates how First Nations and governments can work together to strengthen health care for all.”