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The independent review promised for hospitals in the province by the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority in January is now underway.
The province reported on Thursday that work starts this week on the independent, third-party review of hospital safety and security. It is expected to take about six months to complete.
Buckingham Security Services Ltd. has been contracted by the Ministry of Health to perform the review. Former Saskatoon Police Service chief and chief provincial coroner, Clive Weighill, will be performing the review.
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“Safety is a vital part of Saskatchewan’s health system, impacting patients, visitors and staff,” Weighill said in a government release. “Identifying supports to enhance security will benefit those within the system and the public alike.”
Health Minister for the province, Jeremy Cockrill, said the provincial government is committed to patient and health care worker safety.
“Steps have already been taken in several facilities across the province and are showing positive results. The review being conducted by Clive Weighill will inform further enhancements to safety in hospitals throughout our province,” Cockrill said in the release.
The province stated the release will “examine current practices and provide recommendations to help improve safety for patients, visitors and staff across Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) facilities.”
It is set to include visits to various health authority facilities and meetings with First Nations and Métis organizations, unions and staff.
SHA CEO Andrew Will also committed the health authority to ensuring a safe place for patients, families and staff at its facilities.
“This independent review provides an important opportunity to strengthen safety across our facilities, and we will work in close collaboration with the review team as they evaluate current practices and identify opportunities for improvement,” Will said.
People with lived experience that could be relevant to the security review can contact Buckingham Security Services Ltd. by email at safety@buckinghamsecurity.com to offer input, the release noted.
The province noted areas the review will not include, such as “activities beyond the scope of security provided by protective services officers, for example, triage at emergency units, medical diagnosis and treatment, surgery wait times or general administration within the health system” and “detailed investigations of individual incidents, current investigations and processes currently underway or already completed.”
The review was prompted by “concerns raised by staff and patients and the increasing volume and complexity of Protective Services interventions,” the province noted, which “highlighted the need for a system-wide comprehensive review.”
In February, six metal detectors were added to various Saskatchewan hospitals to assist with security in those hospitals, located in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and North Battleford, as well as in Regina’s urgent care centre.
The death of 36-year-old Trevor Dubois, a man who died after an altercation with security officers in his Saskatoon hospital room while receiving cancer treatment in January, preceded the province’s commitment to the independent review this year. That same month, a letter signed by more than 200 workers at St. Paul’s Hospital was shared, outlining a list of violent incidents at the hospital and calling for immediate help from the provincial health authority.
The health authority has also issued a request for proposals for third-party security services for facilities across the province, including La Loche, Shellbrook, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Weyburn, Nipawin, Melfort and Kamsack.
“These measures are being advanced while the independent review will inform longer-term, system-wide improvements,” the provincial release noted.
Buckingham Security Services is founded by Rod Buckingham, who served for 36 years in the RCMP and with the Regina Police Service and is a security consultant for the CFL.
