Sask. hospital security review identifies ‘immediate pressures,’ health minister says

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“There’s some issues identified in the report that I want to make sure we’re addressed before the report is public, because I don’t want to put a report out there that may share vulnerabilities that both are there for staff and patients in healthcare facilities.”

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In outlining discussions he plans to have with facility leaders, Cockrill gave an example of the direction they could receive: “This needs to get dealt with in the next 30 days.”

“There’s really an opportunity for us to accelerate that work, and then we’ll have the report made public.”

He did not give a date for making the report public or identify specific vulnerabilities in his comments to reporters.

Cockrill also said the Ministry of Health would bring forward a more comprehensive security plan, building on investments already made. Further discussions with the SHA are needed about how to carry out that work, he said.

Citing existing measures in the Battlefords, he pointed to around-the-clock entrance screening and metal detectors.

The province announced May 21 that work was beginning on the independent, third-party review, which was expected to take approximately six months.

At the time, the government said concerns raised by staff and patients, along with an increasing volume and complexity of interventions by protective services, had highlighted the need for a review across the health system.

The ministry contracted Buckingham, a Saskatchewan-based business, to conduct the review under the leadership of executive director Clive Weighill, a former Saskatoon police chief and Saskatchewan chief coroner.

Its mandate was to examine existing security practices and recommend improvements for patients, visitors and staff across SHA facilities.

The May announcement said the work would include facility visits and meetings with First Nations and Métis organizations, unions and staff. People with relevant lived experience were also invited to provide input directly to the firm.

The review excluded activities outside the security role of protective services officers, including emergency triage, medical diagnosis and treatment, surgery wait times and general health-system administration. Detailed investigations of individual incidents, along with investigations and processes already underway or completed, were also outside its scope.

When the review began, the province said metal-detector installations were already underway at emergency department entrances in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and North Battleford, as well as at the Regina Urgent Care Centre.

It also said the SHA had issued a request for proposals for third-party security services at facilities in La Loche, Shellbrook, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Weyburn, Nipawin, Melfort and Kamsack.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com