The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is deploying metal detectors at major urban hospitals after frontline health‑care workers raised urgent concerns about safety, citing an increasing number of weapons found on patients and threats directed at medical staff.
Royal University Hospital
This week, members of the Saskatchewan NDP joined health‑care workers in speaking publicly about the severity of the situation inside emergency departments. During a Thursday, Jan.21 news conference alongside representatives from SEIU‑West, staff from Royal University Hospital displayed images showing four tables filled with seized items — including non‑lethal firearms, knives, drug paraphernalia, and alcohol — each table representing one month of confiscations by hospital security officials.
St. Paul’s Hospital
Frontline workers from St. Paul’s Hospital have also voiced growing alarm. Hundreds recently signed a letter to the SHA’s CEO requesting an immediate emergency safety plan following a November 27 incident in which a patient was found carrying a firearm and three knives. In that case, a medical worker was directly threatened with one of the weapons.
Metal detector roll out
Amid calls for stronger protection, the SHA confirmed that metal detectors are now being expanded across urban emergency departments. Installations took place on January 19, 2026, at Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital, and on January 20 at Regina General Hospital and Pasqua Hospital.
Additional deployments are scheduled for February at Prince Albert Victoria Hospital, Battlefords Union Hospital, and the Regina Urgent Care Centre. Metal detection systems are already in use at the joint emergency entrance shared by Royal University Hospital and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.
MyLloydminsterNow has asked the SHA about possible future use of metal detectors at other facilities including at Lloydminster Hospital.
SHA statement
In a statement, SHA CEO Andrew Will emphasized that safety remains a core value for the authority and acknowledged the rising number of violent incidents in health‑care settings. He stated that the expansion of metal detection technology is intended to prevent weapons from entering emergency departments and to support protective services teams in maintaining a secure environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
The SHA noted that the decision to expand the program follows a successful pilot project launched in 2025 at the Royal University Hospital (RUH) and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (JPCH) in Saskatoon. The authority says metal detectors are one component of a broader approach to improving security as hospitals continue to confront increasingly complex and high‑risk situations.
Call for sustained collaboration
As the SHA’s safety review continues, frontline staff and their labour representatives maintain that additional measures will be necessary to address the scale of threats they face daily. They note that sustained collaboration, transparent communication, and comprehensive protective strategies will be essential to ensuring health‑care workers can carry out their duties safely.
