The Saskatchewan Health Authority is advising residents of southeast Saskatchewan that the Weyburn General Hospital has returned to regular operations and is able to admit COVID and non-COVID acute care patients again, effective Monday morning.
Due to increased COVID-19 activity in the Weyburn area and required realignment of health services to support patient care, Weyburn General Hospital was temporarily transitioned to caring exclusively for COVID positive patients on inpatient wards on Jan. 17.
Non-COVID patient care needs were met in hospitals in surrounding rural locations, primarily St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan. Emergency room services at Weyburn Hospital were not impacted and continued to be available and accessible.
Redeployed health care providers helped stabilize the Weyburn General Hospital workforce and the ability to replace staff when they fell ill, allowing Weyburn to meet the service demands and care needs related to COVID surge.
Similarly, the co-operation of the hospitals in neighbouring communities in accommodating the transfer of non-COVID patients from Weyburn, allowed for the separation of COVID and non-COVID to reduce the risk of COVID transmission.
While vaccine is distributed across the province in a targeted, phased approach, the Saskatchewan Health Authority reminds Saskatchewan residents that they are the first line of defence in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and their actions make all the difference in protecting families, friends and neighbours.
