Today, Premier Scott Moe announced the Government of Saskatchewan’s “Patients First Health Care Plan,” a comprehensive province-wide strategy aimed at improving access to primary care, reducing wait times for diagnostics and surgeries, and expanding the health workforce.
The plan outlines more than 50 actions focused on ensuring residents receive “the right care in the right place at the right time,” responding to concerns about access to family doctors and long wait times for diagnostic services and surgical procedures.
Key elements of the plan include:
- Expanding primary care access: The province will remove limits on nurse practitioner contracts, expand nurse practitioner-led care teams, and increase training capacity by adding 26 additional nurse practitioner training seats.
- Scope of practice expansion: The government plans to introduce legislation expanding the scope of practice across regulated health professions, including nurse practitioners, pharmacists, paramedics and other allied health professionals.
- Virtual care expansion: The plan includes expanded access to virtual care services, particularly virtual primary care for unattached patients and the continued growth of the Virtual Physician Program.
- Diagnostics and surgery: Saskatchewan will expand MRI, CT and PET-CT capacity and aims to perform 450,000 surgeries over the next four years, with a target of having 90% of diagnostic scans completed within 60 days by 2028.
- Hospital capacity: Additional beds are being added across major hospitals in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert to improve patient flow and reduce delays in care.
- Health workforce recruitment: Measures include expanding medical school and residency seats, strengthening the Saskatchewan Health Recruitment Agency, and expanding rural recruitment incentives.
- Infrastructure investments: The province will continue advancing major projects including the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital expansion, new hospitals in Weyburn, Yorkton and Rosthern, and additional urgent care centres.
Looking Ahead
This plan will shape the direction of Saskatchewan’s health system over the coming years, with a clear emphasis on expanding care capacity without relying solely on physicians. The province is prioritizing team-based models, broader scopes of practice, expanded diagnostics, and greater use of virtual care to address workforce shortages and growing demand. As the government moves to implement these initiatives, there will likely be increased openness to innovative service delivery models, digital health tools, diagnostic capacity partnerships, and workforce solutions that help achieve the plan’s objectives.
For health care providers, technology companies, and service partners, the Patients First plan creates a clear policy framework for engagement with the Government of Saskatchewan. Organizations that can demonstrate how their solutions improve access, reduce wait times, or support team-based care delivery will likely find opportunities to work with the province as these initiatives are rolled out.
