PROVINCIAL PEDIATRIC SERVICES TO BE STRENGTHENED

The provincial government today announced plans to strengthen hospital care for children and their families. "Meeting the needs of a small and dispersed child population is both a priority and a challenge," Health Minister John Nilson said.

Saskatchewan Health is providing additional funding this year for the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region's new Centre for Mother/Baby Care. The Centre, to be located at the Regina General Hospital, will be completed over the next several years at an approximate cost of $9 million. It will provide maternity and newborn services in a family-oriented environment.

"We have exceptional staff and physicians who have a great commitment to providing top-notch health care," Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region Maternal Fetal Medicine Director and Regina General Hospital's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Head, Dr. George Carson said. "With the new Centre for Mother/Baby Care at Regina General Hospital, we are going to be able to provide parents and their newborns with the care they need."

Saskatchewan Health also supports the concept of a children's "hospital-within-a-hospital" in Saskatoon. Although most of Saskatoon's pediatric services are currently located together, structural changes to create a child-friendly facility will make hospital stays better for children and their families. The children's "hospital-within-a-hospital" is part of the longer-term considerations to reconfigure hospital services in Saskatoon.

"The concept of a children's hospital is a proven, efficient and effective means to provide excellence in children's health care," Saskatoon Health Region Department of Pediatrics Head, Dr. Bill Bingham said. "This children's centre will allow us to teach our next generation of professional pediatric health care providers, to conduct much needed research and to facilitate child advocacy."

"Because Saskatoon is already home to many pediatric training programs and subspecialties such as cardiology, immunology, neurology and respirology, and because of the concentration of academic programming offered in Saskatoon, we think there are many advantages to creating a centre of excellence for children in Saskatoon," Nilson said. "We want to take the concentration of pediatric resources in Saskatoon and make these more readily available for the entire province."

The level of specialized pediatric care available depends on the hospital's classification and physician complement. Regina will continue in its tertiary role, housing emergency and critical pediatric care and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Additional services for children include developmental pediatrics offered through the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre in Regina and the Alvin Buckwold Child Development Program in Saskatoon.

Saskatchewan is served by physicians and health clinics across the province that refer children to local pediatricians, or to more specialized services in major centres. There are more than 450 designated in-patient pediatric and/or newborn beds dispersed throughout 45 hospitals in Saskatchewan.

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For More Information, Contact:

Jocelyn Argue Health Regina Phone: (306) 787-4083