The Saskatchewan government will be switching to a single health authority for the entire province.
In a news release, the government indicated that the 12 existing health regions in the province will be reduced to a single body by the fall of 2017, focused on consolidation of administration, not the centralization of services. Health Minister Jim Reiter, who was quoted in the release, said that the aim was to get the change done quickly, but it was important to do it right.
Reiter also said the government will be accepting all of the recommendations developed by a three-person advisory panel assembled in August of 2016 to examine the structure of health care in Saskatchewan.
According to Reiter, the move will have significant savings. Speaking to the press, he did not have exact numbers on potential job losses from the move, and said that will be determined by the transition.