SHA unveils more of its strategies for controlling COVID-19

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) revealed more of its strategy Tuesday for its ongoing battle against COVID-19.

With Phase 1 of the authority’s plan to resume services set to begin May 19, the SHA reiterated the schedule to roll out some services will vary around the province because the number of cases or outbreaks differs by region.

While there are many people across the province who have had surgeries or procedures cancelled as part of the plan to make room for a COVID-19 surge, the chief medical officer for the authority, Dr. Susan Shaw, said the SHA isn’t getting a lot of pressure from patients.

“When I talk to surgeons about what they’re seeing in their private offices are in the clinics that are run through the SHA, they are getting questions but there does not seem to be a groundswell of patients who are seeking a lot of information at this time,” said Shaw.

Shaw explained that it’s difficult to plan a restart based around specific surgical procedures or operations. She said it’s more important to focus on how the specific patients are doing and their individual level of urgency.

The surgeries being done in the SHA will expand in the first phase from emergent and 3-week urgent cases to 6-week urgent cases.

The SHA noted the effective reproductive number — the average number of people one person with the virus is likely to infect given the current level of precautions being taken — is now 2.13 in the north and far north of Saskatchewan. That number is just 0.75 in the rest of province.

If that number is below 1.0, it means the virus is being managed well through preventative measures.

Scott Livingstone, CEO of the health authority, said the effective reproductive number can tell us a lot. He said a low number in some areas justifies things like not pushing testing as hard in southern parts of the province like the SHA is in the north.

“But also, at the same time, where we see that number above one, (it) supports the aggressive measures we’re taking in the northwest to ensure that community’s getting all the supports that they need to help tide their reproductive number back down more closely to the provincial number,” said Livingstone.

Managed alcohol programming

The SHA started its Managed Alcohol Program in La Loche on Tuesday; a harm reduction program which provides regulated doses of alcohol to help deal with the problems of alcohol abuse.

Liquor stores in La Loche have been closed down, so Livingstone said it was important to do something to help those with alcohol dependencies.

“The program’s in place to help support them through this change where they don’t have ready access, but the outcomes of going into withdrawal can be much more severe than managing them with alcohol programming, including counselling,” said Livingstone.

Detoxing from alcohol can have serious physical effects and, in some cases, can be fatal.

This is a program which already exists in the province and Livingstone said there has been some identification of people who need it in La Loche already – he explained that while door-to-door testing was being done, the teams were also doing assessments for this and abilities to self-isolate.

Offensive and defensive strategies

The SHA added to its offensive strategy for controlling the virus by launching plans to:

• Provide virtual connections with family for long-term care residents through donations of phones and iPads;
• Increase the authority’s communication with First Nations and Metis communities through a newly created committee;
• Discuss COVID-19 plans with community-based organizations through town halls and discussions;
• Offer mental health support for health-care workers via a help line that will be open from 8 a.m., to 11 p.m., seven days a week;
• Increase the capacity of ground ambulance services and the number of advanced care paramedics in northern Saskatchewan;
• Streamline communication regarding the declaration of outbreaks; and,
• Provide more support for La Loche, including Managed Alcohol Programs to assist those who have an addiction.

The SHA’s defensive strategy continues to prepare for a surge in cases, should one happen. On Tuesday, the SHA said it had:

• Started the process of converting community hospitals to Alternate Level of Care facilities, a temporary change that will protect the community’s most vulnerable. The facilities are closed to emergency service and acute care admissions and will accept only admissions of patients requiring non-urgent levels of care. The program, which is to happen over the next four to six weeks, started Friday in Kerrobert, Herbert, Preeceville, Broadview, Radville and Lanigan.
• Created the COVID-19 Pathway, which the SHA said is “a framework for how patients (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) best access and flow through the health-care system at a local and provincial level.”