ICU expansion at Royal University Hospital raises staffing concerns

Construction is expected to begin this week at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital, to create seven additional intensive care unit beds.

“Over the last several years, I would say there has been a significant effort specifically in Saskatoon in ensuring that the three tertiary buildings that we have here between Saint Paul’s, City Hospital and the University Hospital, that we are using those spaces as efficiently as possible, in terms of obviously providing access to patients, but then being able to flow patients through to make sure that they are where they need to be,” Jeremy Cockrill, the minister of health told media on Monday morning.

The $17 million capital project will bring the total number of ICU beds in the hospital from 19 to 26. After the project is complete, all of the ICU beds will be housed in separate rooms.

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“They support privacy and dignity, strengthen infection prevention and create safer, more functional spaces for delivering highly specialized care ... It will include more opportunities to use ventilation, to provide isolation for patients as well as a new ICU. So, it’s going to be markedly different, in this new space,” Andrew Will, CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority said.

The project is scheduled to be completed in two phases, each a year long. The first year will see the addition of seven beds, followed by a year of upgrading the preexisting ICU beds.

The additional staffing that comes along with this expansion is cause for concern among the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).

“SUN has not been made aware of corresponding additions to ICU nursing staff to support this expansion, raising important questions about how these new beds will be safely staffed,” said Bryce Boynton, SUN president.

“These investments will only succeed if they are matched with strong recruitment, retention, and safe staffing measures, including evidence-based nurse-patient ratios, to address ongoing registered nurse shortages in Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, these critical staffing measures, along with meaningful consultation with frontline registered nurses, were absent from the plan,” he said.

While the exact number of staff necessary to keep these 26 beds fully open and operational has not yet been determined, the Saskatchewan Health Authority says plans are in development.

“Current staffing needs are being reviewed and will advance to government for decision within established processes ... Staffing growth is expected with the expansion of beds,” the SHA said in a statement.

According to Cockrill, the province’s recent decision to realign the roles of both the SHA and Saskatchewan Health Care Recruitment Agency is intended to help combat these staffing issues.

“We’ve made sure that there’s incentives in place. I’m confident that we’re going to get to an agreement with our union partners in this province ... that will properly really represent the government’s view on how important those folks are. In our health care system. All those things, again, have to work together to make sure that we get to a great spot in terms of staffing,” Cockrill said.