Rural Sask. ER department closes as health authority shuffles staff as part of COVID-19 response

Saskatoon — The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has temporarily closed the emergency department in Preeceville until further notice.

The SHA website says the Preeceville and District Health Centre is one of 12 rural area community hospitals that are converting to "alternative level of care " facilities as part of the health authority's COVID-19 surge plan.

In early April, the SHA announced a plan to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 cases that included potentially creating field hospitals in Regina and Saskatoon.

That plan also involved converting some rural hospitals to support alternative level of care patients and temporarily closing emergency departments to allow staff to reallocate to higher need sites.

Some have voiced concern on social media about the emergency room closure in Preeceville, especially when getting timely care is essential.

Preeceville's mayor says he supports the temporary closure because the hospital has a long term care facility adjacent to it, and does not want someone with COVID-19 to spread it to those more vulnerable like seniors.

“All of a sudden now it’s in your staff, then it’s into long term care. And like I was saying, we have one of the oldest populations. You can see what’s happened out east with some of the seniors' centres” Preeceville mayor Garth Harris said.

The 12 locations the SHA identified in the surge plan for possible temporary suspension of emergency services and conversion to ALC are Leader, Kerrobert, Biggar, Herbert, Davidson, Lanigan, Preeceville, Wolsley, Broadview, Arcola, Radville and Oxbow.

The surge plan for COVID-19 called for potential changes to be phased in as required by patient demand.