Expanded Primary Healthcare Team
The Strengthening Primary Care program brought together 20 teams of primary care providers, organizations and communities from northern, rural and remote communities across Canada to improve access to primary care.
- Topics
- Primary and community care
- First Nations, Inuit and Métis priorities
- Cultural Safety
- Audience
Healthcare leader
Community organization
Point of care provider
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With support from the program, the teams introduced promising practices — approaches that improved access to safe, including culturally safe, team-based primary care — by meeting the unique needs of communities, patients and providers while encouraging collaboration and shared learning across Canada. One of the 20 teams (Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services) advanced five unique promising practices to respond to the needs of people and providers throughout their province.
About this Promising Practice
In Weyburn, Saskatchewan, there are long wait times for primary care and a lack of discharge support from the hospital. This leads to an increased reliance on emergency departments (EDs) and hospital readmissions.
Expand the primary care team to include a primary health care registered nurse (PHC RN) to:
Implement a triage system for medical office assistants to prioritize urgent patients.
Coordinate appointments with front-end staff to provide same-day or same-week appointments.
Provide patient care including care delegated by nurse practitioners or physicians.
Manage discharge follow-up within 48 hours of hospital discharge.
By taking on a central role in patient care coordination, the PHC RN improved patient outcomes and made the healthcare team more efficient, providing the right care at the right time.
Program: Strengthening Access to Primary Care in Northern, Rural and Remote Communities
Location: Weyburn, Saskatchewan