The Saskatchewan Board of Health is requesting a third party for surgical procedures

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is on the lookout for potential vendors who will increase orthopedic surgeries in Regina.

A procurement process to provide up to 3,000 elective orthopedic surgeries per year in Regina has been officially opened by the SHA and the Department of Health.

The tender includes a standalone orthopedic surgery facility focused on increasing operating room and bed capacity for inpatient joint replacement, as well as multiple orthopedic procedures per day.

“To successfully manage the waiting list for orthopedic surgeries, including hip and knee replacements, it is essential to work in partnership with our third-party providers,” Health Secretary Paul Merriman said.

“Saskatchewan has for several years developed very successful relationships with third parties to offer publicly funded, privately provided operations designed to expand the capacity of the system.”

About 8,000 patients are currently awaiting joint replacements in Saskatchewan, and the province expects that number to increase.

“Our surgical teams strive to address a number of challenges to manage the surgical waiting list,” said Sharon Garratt, vice president of Integrated Urban Health and chief nursing officer for the Saskatchewan Health Department.

“Creating this additional capacity for operations will help us better support and meet the needs of patients in Saskatchewan.”

The province said the services will continue to be publicly funded, and the likely timeline is to award a contract in fall 2022, hoping to have the services available before December 31, 2023.

Since 2010-11, third-party providers have performed more than 128,000 publicly funded surgeries in Saskatchewan.

Details of criteria, procedures, timelines and other relevant information can be found at SaskTenders.ca.

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