Construction of Regina’s new urgent care centre (UCC) is now complete with staff recruitment, equipment installation and testing now underway in the facility on Albert Street. “First of its kind and one of many health care capitals that are underway, not only across the province, but in this city as well,” Premier Scott Moe said. The centre is expected to be open sometime over the summer with an exact date to be announced in the future, according to the province. It will be open seven days a week and function as an alternative to emergency rooms for the treatment of minor illnesses and injuries that require immediate attention, the province said in a release. According to the province, people can be treated at the centre for suturing services, casting and sprains, as well as minor ailments like infections, fevers and flu symptoms, rashes, dehydration and mild to moderate asthma. “That will have a significant impact on helping to reduce some of the numbers and the wait times and just frankly the volumes that are ending up in our emergency departments here in the City of Regina,” Minister of Health Everett Hindley said. There will also be basic diagnostic imaging and laboratory services available, as well as mental health and addictions services, according to the province. The mental health and addictions unit will have its own separate entrance the province says will be dedicated to the intake and a waiting area for patients that will offer discreet and confidential support. The hiring process is underway, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), with 125 full time staff members to be employed at the centre. “I’m really excited to share that there has been really strong interest. Nursing has been our initial priority to recruit into those positions, so we are in the process right now,” Andrew Will, CEO of the SHA, said. The province says it will annually commit $17.82 million to the UCC for physicians, staffing and non-salary as well as IMIT operations. Construction first began in the spring of 2022.
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