Saskatoon Health Region to close 20 'hallway medicine' spaces

The Saskatoon Health Region has announced its plan to close 20 "inappropriate"spaces in its Saskatoon hospitals by June 5.

Known as hallway medicine, the health region has long struggled with patients being treated in places that weren't designed to house them.

Often, these spaces don't have nurse call buzzers, TVs and phones. Occasionally, they lack even privacy curtains.

In some cases, a third bed was crammed into a hospital room designed for two beds. In other cases, patients have been kept in the emergency ward when they should have moved somewhere else.

"The use of inappropriate spaces will soon be a thing of the past for our region," said Saskatoon Health Region Vice-President Nilesh Kavia in a release. "This is the right thing to do for our patients and now we have the strategies in place to do it."

Beefed up home care promised

The spaces will be closed permanently. The space will be removed from space booking software, and any furniture or equipment will be removed.

In the event of a sudden, unexpected surge of patients, properly staffed and equipped overflow beds will be opened.

The announcement is part of the 90 Days of Innovation initiative, a plan to reduce emergency room visits and combat overcrowding at area hospitals.

Paring down 'overcapacity'

The patients that would have been put in those inappropriate spaces will instead go to a nursing home or a 'community bed', a place where they can be cared for outside of hospital. That could include the patient's own home.

The health region will expand homecare services, but by how much was a figure not immediately available.

Health region staff will also ensure that patients spend less time waiting in hospital for tests. And more work will be done on weekends. Previously, weekend work was limited to emergency cases.

Asked how the region will manage to do these things in the face of an ongoing deficit, Kavia responded "when we provide the right care for the right patient in the right setting ultimately it's actually better value for the taxpayer as well."

The health region has been struggling with what it calls "overcapacity" for several years. This past year it peaked at 119 patients, and averaged 62 per day, but has fallento about 40 this spring. The region operates about 800 acute care hospital beds.