SHAUNAVON — Shaunavon, like many rural communities, has been experiencing temporary disruption of services due to staffing shortages. Shaunavon’s health-care closures over the past year have mainly been attributed to a shortage of lab and x-ray staff. A temporary maternity vacancy has proved difficult to fill but recruitment efforts are ongoing.
The Town of Shaunavon, alongside the RMs of Arlington, Grassy Creek and Bone Creek, recently announced that the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has approved the implementation of Point of Care Testing (POCT) equipment at the Shaunavon Hospital.
POCT will help reduce these disruptions by allowing trained staff to conduct critical tests when regular lab staff are unavailable, supplementing existing lab services and ensuring coverage when staff need time off.
This equipment enables health-care providers to perform tests at the patient’s bedside or within the hospital, delivering results in less than 30 minutes. Tests such as hemoglobin, white blood cell counts, and troponin (cardiac) levels can be conducted quickly, helping physicians and care teams make faster, informed decisions about patient care.
To support this transition, nurses at Shaunavon Hospital will receive online education and phlebotomy training provided by SHA.
“We recognize that stabilizing emergency services at our hospital is essential for our community’s well-being, and we remain committed to advocating for stronger rural health care,” says Shaunavon Mayor Cal Vance.
Vance explains that the machine itself is a bedside machine and by no means replaces the full services provided by lab staff. “We understand that POCT has been on trial in other locations for the past 18 months and that it has been very successful. We have regular touch point meetings with SHA staff and the idea was raised as a possibility to address the concerns we’ve had here with disruptions.”
Town and surrounding Rural Municipality representatives met with Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill to discuss how the community could get POCT. Vance says, “The local RMs are also involved, and we kept pushing forward, not taking no for an answer. It’s nice to see a joint venture among R.M.s, Eastend and Shaunavon, all talking about common goals; it’s a good feeling and it worked.”
Vance added that the Town’s next health care priority will be addressing the shortage of paramedics in the community. There are currently four vacancies.
The Provincial Government also announced on April 1 that a virtual physician program is now supporting 24/7 emergency care in Shaunavon. Shaunavon is one of three additional Collaborative Emergency Centres (CECs) who are taking part in this program.
Overnight virtual physician coverage in Shaunavon is not new and was previously provided remotely by Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) physicians. Now, it will be supported by the SHA’s virtual physician program.
CECs use an innovative model of care that enhances access to both primary health care and 24/7 emergency health care. During the daytime (8 a.m. – 8 p.m.), primary and emergency care is provided by health-care staff with on-site support from local physicians in the community. Overnight (8 p.m. – 8 a.m.), emergent care is provided by either registered nurses or a registered nurse and paramedic team, with virtual support from a physician.
Individuals are reminded that if emergency services are required, they should call 9-1-1. Non-urgent health-related questions may be directed to the 24/7 HealthLine service by calling 8-1-1.
