Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) announced on Wednesday, November 26, that it will continue to enhance access to rural emergency departments by expanding the point-of-care testing program. This program allows trained healthcare team members to perform rapid, on-site diagnostics for urgent tests, ensuring that rural emergency departments can provide timely patient care even when lab professionals are unavailable.
Since its introduction in 2023, officials say point-of-care testing has supported local health-care teams in providing on-site emergency department services and, as of November 24, 2025, has prevented 214 potential service disruptions.
Point-of-care testing results for critical diagnostics are delivered to physicians for assessment in under 30 minutes. There are several tests that can be performed using point-of-care testing technology, which include but are not limited to:
- hemoglobin to evaluate anemia and blood loss;
- white blood cell counts to determine the presence of infection;
- urinalysis for assessing kidney function and detecting urinary tract infections; and,
- cardiac markers to evaluate heart health.
The SHA recently extended point-of-care testing in Herbert, Shellbrook and Watrous. Over the coming weeks, the SHA is expanding the program further to include emergency departments in Kipling, Rosthern, Assiniboia, and Esterhazy through targeted investments from the Government of Saskatchewan. Emergency departments in Leader, Maple Creek, Wynyard, Kamsack and Shaunavon continue to actively use point-of-care testing when needed, ensuring residents in those communities benefit from seamless access to local emergency health services
Described as an “innovative point-of-care testing program,” nurses on social media are speaking out, questioning why, if it is a 24-hour emergency room, are laboratory staff unavailable? Is it a staffing issue or staffing cuts? The press release implies that it is an expansion of services, but if non-laboratory staff are going to be performing this service, then the workload is simply being shifted to another set of hands that is already overburdened.
This raises the question: Is this another ‘bandaid’ for staffing issues that will become common practice, much like the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses have said regarding the hallway beds at Royal University Hospital being “so routine they are even named: E pod and F pod.”
Laboratory services are crucial for maintaining the effective operation of emergency departments. Alongside the Virtual Physician program, which offers on-demand remote physician support when on-site doctors are not available, the point-of-care testing program aims to improve access to emergency care in rural and remote areas. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and the provincial government are also committed to recruiting staff for rural laboratories as part of this overall strategy.
“Point-of-care testing acts as an interim solution to support local health-care teams and physicians in making clinical decisions in emergency situations, ensuring that patients benefit from timely access to critical testing and prompt treatment as close to home as possible,” said Bryan Witt, Vice President of Provincial Clinical and Support Services, SHA. “We are grateful to our local health-care teams who are working hard to minimize service disruptions and ensure emergency department services remain available to Saskatchewan residents.”
