Released on February 26, 2009
Inner city Saskatoon residents will continue to benefit from a highly successful primary health care pilot project. Today, Health Minister Don McMorris announced the Primary Health Bus will serve residents of the city's core neighbourhoods on an ongoing basis. McMorris also announced that the Ministry of Health will provide the Saskatoon Regional Health Authority with $350,000 in annual funding to support staffing and operational costs for the Primary Health Bus.
"We've committed to making this an ongoing project because we recognize that the Primary Health Bus provides an extremely valuable service to the community," McMorris said. "The bus is innovative, and even more important, it's highly accessible to the people who need it the most."
The Primary Health Bus pilot project was launched in August 2008, as a joint initiative between the Saskatoon Regional Health Authority and M.D. Ambulance Care Ltd., supported by the Ministry of Health. Designed to reduce the barriers faced by some people in accessing health care services, the project has succeeded in making it easier for inner city residents to receive primary health care services.
The Primary Health Bus project has proven to be very popular. To date, almost 1000 clients have accessed services on the bus. On average, staff are seeing between eight and nine people each day and among those using the bus, 12 per cent are return clients.
"The Health Bus has been an overwhelming success," Saskatoon Health Region president and CEO Maura Davies said. "Residents in the core neighbourhoods told us they needed us to come to them and the response since launching this program certainly shows how important this service is to the Saskatoon community."
The bus used for the project is an RV that has been retrofitted into a mobile health centre, complete with an exam room. The bus parks in designated locations in the Westmount, Meadow Green, Pleasant Hill, Riversdale and King George neighbourhoods. At each stop, people can access a variety of services from the Registered Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) and paramedic who staff the bus.
"Health Bus staff have been building very strong and positive relationships with people in the community," M.D. Ambulance Care Ltd. president and CEO Dave Dutchak said. "This project has been a great opportunity to provide health services to people in the communities where they live and we're really pleased that we'll be able to continue working with the Regional Health Authority and the Ministry of Health to offer this important service."
The Primary Health Bus will operate year-round, eight hours a day, seven days a week.
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For more information, contact:
Karen Hill
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4037
Email: khill@health.gov.sk.ca
Linda Walker
Saskatoon Health Region
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-655-3328