Saskatoon City Hospital receives funding to add 109 new acute care beds – Saskatoon [Video]

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is taking a big step in an effort to reduce ongoing capacity pressures.

Saskatoon City Hospital will be seeing an addition of 109 new acute care beds, totalling $15 million in new money from the provincial government. Andrew Will, SHA’s Chief Executive Officer is calling the expansion “significant”, equivalent to adding a new hospital in the city.

“It’s going to create a better experience for our patients and families, but it’s also going to create a better work environment that supports recruitment and retention of physicians and other staff as well,” said Will.

SHA says on average, 55 patients wait in Saskatoon emergency rooms for acute care beds — part of the problem when dealing with continued issues of overcapacity. Will said the hope in adding these beds is to ease the pressures the healthcare system faces on a daily basis.

Over 500 additional staff and physicians will …