A service resumption plan by the Saskatchewan Health Authority to gradually bring back health services that were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic is in the works.

The news was mentioned by CEO Scott Livingstone during the SHA’s approval of its 2021-2022 operating budget and capital expenditure plan on Wednesday.

Livingstone said these are services that have been reduced since around Christmas due to the SHA’s response to a spike in COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan at the time. He said they need to focus on bringing services back that people did not receive during the pandemic.

“It’s not just elective surgeries or diagnostic imaging procedures. There’s a lot of health care services that were delayed or slowed down to support COVID,” mentioned Livingstone.

“There’s lots of catch up to do and unmet need out there. We are starting to see a little more acuity in the emergency rooms, so we want to move forward with gearing everything up over the next few months.”

Livingstone hopes some health workers will be moving out of their COVID or immunization duties and return to their pre-pandemic work in the coming months.

He added that he doesn’t think the plan will require a significant amount of money outside of their approved budget.

“We will be in discussions with the ministry and government around if they are prepared to make investments such as running extended hours for a while on some services and properly staff,” he explained.

Livingstone hopes some health workers will be moving out of their COVID or immunization duties and return to their pre-pandemic work in the near future.

He expects the plan will be ready for presentation within the next few weeks.