Submitted
Cut Knife and area residents now have access to enhanced Primary Health services, with relocation and expansion of the former medical clinic within Cut Knife Health Complex.
The newly developed Primary Health Centre (PHC) was officially introduced on Friday, March 2, at an open house for local and area citizens. The PHC is located in the west wing of Cut Knife Health Complex adjacent to the existing Laboratory Services department.
“The new PHC space is over three times larger than the former Cut Knife clinic,” said Charlotte Hamilton, Director of Primary Health Services North Battleford, with Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). “Patient access to services at the new Primary Health Centre is nearly doubled, with PHC hours expanded to five days a week Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the exception of one Friday each month when the PHC is closed.”
Hamilton explained that expansion of primary care hours is due largely to the availability of a nurse practitioner (NP) on a full time basis. NP Casey Gaw is based in Cut Knife and provides patient care at the Cut Knife PHC four days a week. She provides services at Manitou Health Centre in Neilburg one day each week.
Physician services are available at the Cut Knife PHC two days a week, alternated by visiting Doctors P. Eraga and O. Olayinka from North Battleford.
In addition to the three patient examination rooms and private physician and nurse practitioner spaces for counselling, the PHC includes space for visiting Mental Health counsellors, Chronic Disease Management professionals, Nutrition specialists, Public Health nurses and Home Care nurses. The PHC location also offers greater access to Telehealth services including patient consultations with specialists and educational sessions, reducing travel for Cut Knife and area patients.
“Patients will benefit from greater access to a broad range of health services available from a single location,” said Neal Sylvestre, Director of Rural Health Facilities – Maidstone, with the SHA, and with responsibility for the Cut Knife Health Complex. “Relocating the PHC on the same side of the facility as the existing laboratory services also improves convenience for patients,” he added.
The project moved forward in collaboration with the Highway 40 Health Holdings group of local and area representatives which provides the support staff for the clinic and oversees the Neilburg clinic as well.
“We value our partnership with the Health Holdings group, as we work together in focusing on primary health care in rural communities,” stated Hamilton.
Gwenn Kaye, Vice-Chairperson of Highway 40 Health Holdings and Mayor of Cut Knife said the community of Cut Knife is very excited with relocation of the medical clinic into the new Primary Health Centre. “A big thank you goes to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible. We are very happy to have this part of the Cut Knife Health Complex being used again and really believe our communities will be served better with the enhanced hours and larger space.”
