Health care services in Weyburn are facing some unique pressures that have not been dealt with here before, and the Sun Country Health Region is encouraging residents to consider alternatives when it's possible, such as dialling 811 to access HealthL
Health care services in Weyburn are facing some unique pressures that have not been dealt with here before, and the Sun Country Health Region is encouraging residents to consider alternatives when it's possible, such as dialling 811 to access HealthLine.
For the time being, there is a shortage of physicians in Weyburn, and due to there being "closed practices", some people have been taking minor ailments to the Emergency Room at the Weyburn General Hospital.
If the issue is not a medical emergency requiring immediate treatment and medical attention, sometimes the ailment can be taken care of through a service like the province's HealthLine.
HealthLine is a confidential 24-hour health information and support telephone line, staffed by Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and social workers.
These professionals who handle the calls to HealthLine are experienced and specially trained to help individuals make decisions about their medical options.
They can help a person decide if they can treat their own symptoms, go to a clinic, see a primary health care provider or access emergency medical care.
There are statistics that show Sun Country residents are making use of HealthLine, but there is room for improvement as well, said Wanda Miller, regional director of primary health care in Sun Country.
In the last year, from April 2012 to March 2013, there were a total of 6,269 calls made from Sun Country area residents; of these, 2,706 were medically-related and were answered by an RN; the balance, 3,563, were handled by a social worker or by a registered psychiatric nurse.
One of the groups making the best use of HealthLine in this health region are young mothers calling in regard to their young children.
By age category also, the ages of 20-29 and 30-39 are the highest users of HealthLine, while the age bracket of 40 to over 70 make the least use of the resource, with less than 2,000 of the calls from this age range.
"I think the HealthLine could be utilized even more," said Miller. "They've got some really good interactive tools, and I don't think people really utilize these as much as they could be."
She noted that those in charge of the HealthLine are taking a good close look at their numbers and at who is using it to see where improvements to the 811 service can be made.
If a recommendation is made for someone to see a physician, and one isn't available, she said one thing is that Sun Country lists which physicians are or are not taking patients on their web site.
Meantime, more use of the HealthLine could certainly help many more people than it currently is, and may alleviate some of that pressure.
"I've spoken to people who've used it, and they've felt that it really helped them," said Miller, adding there will be more services to come in the future that may help people.
"It's always evolving; they've got a great five-year plan. It's something that's always improving," she said, noting there will be a feature out in the next few months to address chronic diseases, as an example.
In Sun Country, there are a number of initiatives underway to try and alleviate and address the shortage of physicians, including that they are actively building a primary health care system so that teams of medical professionals, including nurse practitioners, can provide more team-based care for patients.
One initiative being pursued is that Sun Country is working with the University of Saskatchewan to establish an on-site training program for the last two years of the family medicine program.
"We expect that after they practice here, get to know their colleagues and form some roots here, more doctors will stay here after graduation; that program will be ready in the next few years," said Marga Cugnet, CEO of Sun Country.
Also, there are four medical students attending university on Sun Country bursaries. These are expected to settle here in Sun Country in the next few years, once they're done their schooling.
Related to this, medical students are also encouraged to come here for part of their training to work with the doctors and become accustomed to working in rural areas. About 20 medical students have worked with local doctors in Sun Country in 2012, and 11 so far in 2013. Three residents worked in Sun Country in 2012, and three so far in 2013.
The HealthLine is available to anyone in the province free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When a person calls HealthLine, they have the option of speaking with a Registered Nurse, or a mental health and addictions professional.
If the choice is an RN, the nurse will assess your symptoms and provide you with the most appropriate health support or information.
If a caller chooses a mental health or addictions professional, you will be able to discuss your concerns or issues in a safe, caring and confidential manner with either a registered psychiatric nurse or a social worker.
They can help with crisis counselling, strategies to help you manage your situation, or provide information about resources in the community.
HealthLine is available to support you and your health care team; it is not designed to replace advice from a primary care provider, eliminate the need for regular checkups or to provide a diagnosis.
While primarily available in English, HealthLine services are available in over 100 languages, along with TTY access for the hearing impaired.
HealthLine was created by Primary Health Care, which is the day-to-day care needed to protect, maintain or restore one's health. For most people, it is their first point of contact with the health care system, and is their most frequently-used health service.
Visiting a family physician, discussing a prescription with a pharmacist, or speaking with a registered nurse on HealthLine are all examples of how residents access primary health care every day.
These types of exchanges account for about 80 per cent of all interactions in the health care system, making the delivery of effective primary health care services critical to the success of the entire health care system.
The Primary Health Services branch under Sask Health not only has set up HealthLine, but supplemented it with HealthLine Online, which is a web-based health information service.
