Innovative Patient Care at Victoria Hospital

Victoria Hospital is putting patients first with an innovative patient care program for orthopedic surgery. Recognizing that established protocols are no longer adequate, orthopedic specialists are sharing patient referrals. This means patients can choose to take the next available appointment, reducing their wait time for surgery.

The Department of Orthopedics at Victoria Hospital has four orthopedic specialists. The process, called ‘pooled referrals’, gives patients the option of seeing the first available specialist who is qualified to treat their condition.

Pooled referrals are part of the provincial government's commitment to improving access to surgical care through the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative (SkSI). This is a four-year plan to improve surgical patients' experiences and reduce wait times. Wait times to see a specialist have been identified as one of the “bottlenecks” in the surgical care system.
I commend these surgeons for working with the Ministry of Health to introduce this new option for patients in northern Saskatchewan. Clearly, their goal is to be patient-focused and to improve quality of care.
Residents of Prince Albert and area will soon benefit further when general surgeons in Prince Albert begin pooling referrals later this spring.

The SkSI is working to provide all patients with the opportunity to have surgery within three months by 2014. More information is available at www.health.gov.sk.ca/surgical-initiative.

The innovative spirit was celebrated this month at the annual Samuel McLeod Awards. It was my honour to present the Legacy Award to Roger Mann and the Mann family for their 100 year contribution to our city.

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At one point in their business history, Roger Mann’s grandfather was warned by other business leaders, not to move his business from Central Avenue to a location near the bridge. He was told it would be a disastrous move. In spite of the dire predictions, Mann Motors was moved two blocks, and enjoyed decades of success.

This exemplifies many of the business people in our city. They are entrepreneurs who take calculated risks to improve the community, and that is so inspiring!

Just as the Mann family took action to help Prince Albert prosper, the provincial government continues to take action that keeps the Saskatchewan Advantage.

Since the 2012-13 budget was delivered, five other provinces and the federal government have all tabled budgets. The one thing they have in common is that they are all deficit budgets. In Saskatchewan, that is not the case. At the time of this writing, we remain the only province in Canada to have a truly balanced budget.

We are committed to manage the province’s finances in a fiscally responsible way that invests in the programs and services that are important to you.