The Government of Saskatchewan announced on Tuesday that it has signed seven new nurse practitioner primary care contracts in Regina. The province says its continuing to deliver on its Patients First Health Care Plan, aimed at increasing the amount of nurse practitioners serving as residents’ primary point of care. “Access to timely primary care is one of the most important priorities for patients and families right across our province,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill told reporters Tuesday. “Nurse practitioners are an important part of that, providing comprehensive primary care services through highly skilled, registered health professionals who can assess and diagnose patients, order interpret tests and prescribed medications, and provide ongoing care.” According to Cockrill, the province has removed the cap on nurse practitioner contracts and expanded contract opportunities. The minister said the decisions are being made with the goal of vastly increasing the number of residents who have access to a primary care provider by the end of 2028. He says that there are now 40 contract holders across the province, and that around 60-65 per cent of these practitioners are in urban communities such as Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, with the rest being in rural areas. “Through this model that we have with the Ministry of Health contracts, we’re trying to get to a model that works here right here in Regina on Badham Boulevard, but also works in a community like Southey or Bengough or Weyburn, or North Battleford. So that’s really what we’re trying to get to is a place and I think we’re seeing that already.” The initiative is a partnership between the province and the Saskatchewan Association of Nurse Practitioners (SANP) to “strengthen team-based care and continue ongoing efforts to connect more people to a primary health care provider,” according to a release from the Government of Saskatchewan. SANP says it has been advocating funding models for nurse practitioner practices for over a decade. “Looking back, in 2024 the initial pilot project was announced for two NP contracts, and now look where we’ve come,” SANP President Toni Giraudier said. “We are well into our second intake of the Primary Care NP contract program, with the third intake opening at the end of July. With the no cap announcement, we have come a long way in a short amount of time.” “Too many people fall through the cracks when they can’t access consistent care, and we see that impact every day through preventable illnesses, unnecessary suffering, and emergency rooms, stretched beyond capacity,” Lara Metheral of Prairie Nurse Practitioners noted. According to Giraudier, the contract program allows a NP to open a practice or provide a primary care service that is publicly funded anywhere in the province. “Previously, if there wasn’t a position where you lived, you would have to commute or potentially not provide those primary care services as an NP, even if your community needed them. The primary care contract program really allows some flexibility for NPs to practice where they live, where they want to, and provide the great service that we know they can,” she explained. Cockrill says there will be a 45 per cent increase in nurse practitioner training seats in September, which represents a “huge step forward.” Additionally, there’s a nearly 20 per cent increase in seats at the College of Medicine to train more physicians.
