New urgent care centre in Regina set to open next year

A new Urgent Care Centre in Regina will hopefully relieve some pressures in the city's emergency rooms, per the province's announcement Thursday.

Services likeinjury care, basic diagnostic services and mental health andaddictionssupports will be available at the 1350 Albert Street location. The centre is meant forillnesses and injuries that are not immediately life threatening.

"With this very important investment, more people will receive the care they need when they need it and residents of Regina and the surrounding area will benefit for many years to come," Everett Hindley, minister of mental health and addictions, seniors, and rural and remote health told reporters Thursday.

"This new centre will give people access to safe and appropriate care, including mental health and addictions services, 24 hours a day, every day," Health Minister Paul Merriman said in a news release.

"It will be a key resource for people who need care quickly, but who do not require a trip to emergency."

Graham Construction is taking the project on, but the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) will own and operate the facility. Construction is meant to start this spring, and be finished early 2023.

"I think we've all experienced, or know someone who's experienced, a case where you've had perhaps a minor injury or an ailment or something that can't necessarily wait until the next day but probably could be dealt with in another manner outside of an emergency room department," Hindley said.

Hindley emphasized the importance of the mental health and addiction supports that will be in the centre, noting that it will have a separate intake and professionals who specialize in those areas on site.

Per the news release, the project is part of the government's $7.5 billion capital plan which is supposed to help Saskatchewan's economy recover from the effects of the ongoing pandemic.

A similar centre is planned for Saskatoon. Location and designs options are being considered right now, according to the news release.