Vol. 104 No. 10
Box 40, 102 3rd Ave West, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
email: tip@sasktel.net
20 pages
Phone: 306-948-3344
$1.25
www.biggarindependent.ca
Surgical wait times continue to drop S
askatchewan people are receiving surgeries sooner – with improved safety procedures – thanks to the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative. The Saskatchewan health system is making good progress toward its April 2014 goal of providing all patients an offer of surgery within three months. However, it is clear that Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region will not reach the target on schedule. Statistics as of December 31, 2012 show that a reduction in the number of patients across Saskatchewan waiting more than six months for surgery was offset by an increased number of patients waiting in Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR). The overall provincial number increased by 233 people from last month’s update to 4,504. Since 2007, the number of patients waiting more than six months for surgery has fallen 58 per cent. The Surgical Initiative’s interim goal is that by April 2013, no one wait will more than six months for surgery. “When we began the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative in 2010, we knew this was an ambitious undertaking,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said, February 27. “We set bold targets, where others
set none. We are proud of what we have accomplished, to provide Saskatchewan people with improved access to quality surgical services. With one exception, our health regions look to be on track to meet the wait times target on schedule. My expectation is that Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region will meet the target, even if they are delayed a year. Patients in this region, and across Saskatchewan, deserve treatment that meets this new standard of care.” “We are committed to aggressively reducing our surgical wait times,” RQHR CEO Keith Dewar said. “We are confident we will be able to provide all surgeries within three months, but we will need more time to accomplish that.” Despite the setbacks in RQHR, 90 per cent of Saskatchewan people needing non-emergency surgery receive their procedure within six months and 78 per cent receive their procedure within three months. Since November 2007, the number of patients waiting more than three months has been significantly reduced – dropping 46 per cent from 15,537 to 8,345. The Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative was launched in April 2010 involving government, surgical teams, health administrators and patient representatives in a high-priority joint effort
to streamline surgical processes, improve the quality of patient care and reduce wait times. Some Saskatchewan projects contributing to surgery improvements include: • Adoption of the surgical safety checklist before surgeries and processes to reduce post-surgical infections; • An online specialist directory to empower patients, in consultation with their primary health care provider, to make informed choices about referrals to specialists; • The use of pooled referrals to route patients to the next available specialist appropriate for their condition; • Referral of patients on the public wait list to contracted third-party surgical centres; • New patient-flow software introduced in Regina and Saskatoon to help move patients through the health system better and faster; • Increased surgical capacity in Regina, Saskatoon and other centres; and • Assessment centres to support early diagnosis and treatment of serious hip and knee problems and back problems. “Bringing down wait times is a top priority,” Duncan said. “Our expectation is that through the lens of Patient First, surgical teams will work together to achieve more timely treatment for
All the lucky numbers in a row . . . St. Gabriel School student, Connor Sunderland, raises his arm in victory as Angel Rei Dalisay looks on, February 27. The school held a Family Fun Night fund raiser for Telemiracle, pulling in $650. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
Biggar accepts in motion Community Challenge B
Card Sharps . . . Geoff Cooke, Wayne McLean, Vera McNeil, Gord Besse (left to right, all seated) wait for new hands as Don Swyryda looks on, February 27. The Biggar New Horizons held a ‘Beat the Blues’ card party - the competition was definitely heated, but the friendship, well, that simply beat the winter blahs! (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
iggar residents will benefit from active living as the community is one of 27 communities taking part in this year’s in motion Community Challenge. Not only will people be encourage to live an physically fit life, but the community could benefit from a monetary prize! The winner of a $10,000 grand prize will be chosen through an online challenge beginning Friday, March 1 through Friday, March 15, 2013. For a community to win, they must rally friends, neighbours, coworkers, teachers, and families to register their minutes of daily physical activity each day on the in motion Community
Challenge Web site. Anyone can put their minutes towards a community project of their choice! The community that has the most minutes of physical activity registered on the Challenge Web site from March 1-15, will win $10,000! Prize money must go toward a project that will increase physical activity opportunities for children, youth and families. The winner will be announced Monday March 18. Every minute counts! The in motion Community Challenge is designed to get communities working together to make a positive difference and make
physical activity the easy choice for children and youth. In addition to Biggar, the following communities are participating in the Challenge: Bienfait, Maple Creek, Maryfield, C a r o n p o r t , O x b o w, Cudworth, Pinehouse Lake, Cumberland House, Quill Lake, Dalmeny, Smeaton, Davidson, Spiritwood, Debden, St. Louis, Gull Lake, Strasbourg, Hudson Bay, Unity, Indian Head, Watrous, James Smith Cree Nation, Weyburn, Kipling, White City, Lampman. Fo r m o r e d e t a i l s, please visit: challenge. saskatchewaninmotion. ca.