A welcoming smile, you just can't see it. Office staff at Broker’s Active Care Klinic from left, Tanya Giesbrecht and Diana Broker with Dr. Blaine Broker, re-opened for business Monday. (Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

Back To Business

Not all medical services ready for first phase of Re-Open plan

May 4, 2020 | 2:00 PM

It is day one of the first phase of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s a mixed bag regarding which medical services have chosen to open their doors today.

Broker’s Active Care Klinic chiropractors on Second Avenue for example, says they’re happy to be offering service again and have been very busy already.

“We’re going to follow the advice of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and they’re allowing us to open,” Dr. Blaine Broker told paNOW Monday. “Of course, we’re aware the virus is out there and we’re going to take every safeguard we can to protect ourselves and the public that accesses us.”

Broker said he and his staff would self-monitor and “only work as we feel comfort to, again to protect ourselves and our patients and we’ll follow the guidelines as dictated by the SHA.”

Meanwhile, FYIdoctors on 15^th Street, had initially indicated they would be ready to re-open on first hearing about the Re-Open plan last month. But Dr. Stephen Malec noted they’ve had a change of mind in light of the COVID-19 cases being reported in the city and wider region.

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“With the increased cases we’re seeing in the North and with the issue with the [Victoria] Hospital having a bunch of staff in isolation we decided we would monitor the situation and minimize the risk to our staff and the patients coming in,” he said.

Malec said they would probably review things on a week-by week basis and added it was disappointing not to be opening today.

“The people here who have been manning the phones and [handling] emergencies the past month or so are disappointed not to have their co-workers back, but I think everybody understands and appreciates that discretion is probably the most important part of the decision rather than just getting going,“ he said.

One Prince Albert dental office phoned by paNOW Monday morning said they were not offering expanded services other than for emergencies due to the shortage of availability of personal protective equipment. Another office said they would not be conducting procedures where aerosolized particles are expected to be generated.

The College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan told paNOW in an email the re-opening of practices from today, including in P.A., would be a phased, methodical and cautious approach to slowly and responsibly restart dental care in the province.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow