Released on August 18, 2016
Today, Health Minister Dustin Duncan announced the appointment of a three person advisory panel that will be tasked with reviewing the current Regional Health Authority (RHA) structure and to provide options to reduce the number of RHAs in Saskatchewan. The panel’s mandate will also include a review of options for more effective and efficient delivery of services on a province-wide basis.
The advisory panel members are Tyler Bragg (Swift Current), President and CEO of Pinnacle Financial Services, and former Chairperson of the Cypress Regional Health Authority; Dr. Dennis A. Kendel (Saskatoon), Chief Executive Officer of the Physician Recruitment Agency of Saskatchewan (PRAS); and Brenda Abrametz (Prince Albert), Chairperson of the Prince Albert Parkland Regional Health Authority.
“I am pleased to be appointing a panel that is qualified and very familiar with Saskatchewan’s health care system,” Duncan said. “I want to be clear: while panel members will provide advice that will lead to fewer health regions and less administration, the overall goal of this is to continue to improve frontline patient care for Saskatchewan residents. I look forward to the panel’s recommendations and advice in the coming months.”
The review will begin shortly and include consultation with key health system stakeholders in order to inform the optimal design of the health system structure. As part of the review of health region boundaries, the advisory panel mandate will include reviewing regional health authority board structure and accountability, looking at services that could be delivered more efficiently and effectively on a provincial scale, and identifying ways to enhance measurement of health system performance.
“I want to thank Minister Duncan for the opportunity to serve the residents of Saskatchewan in this capacity and look forward to playing a role in building a strong and sustainable health care system for decades to come,” Bragg said.
“I welcome the challenge presented to us and am humbled by the chance to make a real difference in the way the Saskatchewan health system is structured and governed to benefit patients,” Kendel said.
“I’m pleased to be a part of this advisory panel and look forward to considering and advising on the best way to streamline our health system structure to benefit the residents of Saskatchewan,” Abrametz said.
It is expected that the panel will provide its findings to government in the coming months.
Details on the Advisory Panel process for consultations and submissions will be available soon on the Government of Saskatchewan website at www.saskatchewan.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-2743
Email: tyler.mcmurchy@health.gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-537-3594