Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks with reporters on July 9, 2025, in North Battleford after meeting with Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill, Justice Minister Tim McLeod and local mayors. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

ACCESS POINTS

Sask. government pushes ahead with urgent care expansion despite Regina staffing issues

Jul 9, 2025 | 4:14 PM

Amid growing concerns about reduced hours and staff shortages at Regina’s Urgent Care Centre, Saskatchewan’s government says it remains committed to expanding the model to communities like North Battleford and Prince Albert.

Regina’s first standalone urgent care facility, which opened in July 2024, was designed to run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a plan to transition to 24/7 service that fall. It saw more than 500 patients in its first week, showing early success in diverting non-urgent cases from crowded emergency rooms.

But a year later, the promised 24-hour operation still hasn’t materialized. In June and early July, Regina’s centre twice reduced hours on weekends — most recently closing at 4 p.m. on July 6 — citing a lack of available physicians.

Opposition health critic Keith Jorgenson called the delays “an abject failure” and “another example of broken promises,” amid questions about how new centres will be staffed if Regina is still struggling to cover shifts.

Despite that, Premier Scott Moe said the Regina pilot remains “very successful” and the province plans to replicate and expand it to Saskatoon, North Battleford, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw.

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“The volumes are proving out to be that… the urgent care volumes on a daily basis are coming close to actually what is being seen by either of the hospitals in Regina,” Moe said.

Moe said the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is reviewing whether to extend the Regina site to 24 hours or build more sites instead.

Moe, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill and Justice Minister Tim McLeod were in North Battleford Wednesday for meetings with local leaders about crime, housing and health care expansion.

Health Minster Jeremy Cockrill. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Cockrill said the province is working closely with local doctors to figure out how the new centres will be staffed.

“We are working urgently on the urgent care centres in these other communities, engaging with the physician communities in North Battleford and Moose Jaw and Prince Albert to understand what they’re able to offer as a physician group,” Cockrill said.

He added that patients in Regina have emphasized how much they value having the urgent care option.

“It’s more important that we increase the access points rather than the hours,” he said.

Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie said local emergency rooms are often “inundated with people who have nowhere to go,” increasing wait times and straining paramedics. He called the new centre “the way of the future” for managing non-urgent cases.

North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin said communities also need more mental health and addictions support.

“We have many people struggling with addictions here that really don’t belong in prison cells, and they deserve an opportunity to have a healthy future as well,” she said.

North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW Staff)

The Regina centre was built at a cost of about $18.7 million and now employs about 130 people. The SHA said it has served between 40,000 and 41,000 patients in its first year.

With the provincial budget committing $8.1 billion to health care this spring, funding has been earmarked for the new urgent care centres and a second site in Regina.

Despite Regina’s staffing setbacks, Moe said expanding urgent care remains the province’s priority to help ease pressure on emergency rooms and connect more people to mental health and recovery services.

“Capital resources that the province has right now is to expand that access as quickly as possible into those 16 hours that seem to be the most needed for families that require that service,” Moe noted.

– With files from 980 CJME

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com