Province Moving Forward on Improving Regina Hospital Physician Culture

CANADA, July 8 - Released on July 7, 2025

The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA), is taking action to improve workplace culture and environment for the Regina hospital physician community.  

The Ministry has received an independent external review commissioned to look into challenges in the work environment in Regina hospitals. The review was conducted by two highly respected medical leaders from Ontario and Nova Scotia and includes a number of recommendations for the Ministry, the SHA, the SMA and the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine to improve the working environment for physicians.

"I want to thank the reviewers for their report and look forward to working in collaboration with our health system partners to implement those recommendations," Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. "We have a shared goal of creating and maintaining a positive, safe and healthy work environment for all employees and physicians and I am confident both short and long-term actions will provide improvements that benefit both physicians and patients."

The SHA and SMA will be working in collaboration to address the review's 14 recommendations, including holding engagement sessions with Regina hospital physicians on finalizing an action plan to address recommendations on near-term and longer-term priorities.  

Separately, the SHA has taken a number of immediate actions to address some of the recommendations including:

• restructuring the SHA's Senior Physician Leadership structure, as announced on June 12, 2025;
• working collaboratively with the SMA to finalize practitioner staff bylaws; and
• launching the SHA anti-racism strategy.

"The Saskatchewan Health Authority cares deeply about the workplace experience for all practitioners and employees," SHA CEO Andrew Will said. "We are fully committed to collaborating with the Saskatchewan Medical Association, Regina hospital physicians and other health system partners to develop an action plan to implement the report's recommendations."  

"The Saskatchewan Medical Association is committed to collaborating with system leaders to build a better future for physicians in Regina and across the province," SMA president Dr. Pamela Arnold said. "This review provides an opportunity to reset and build stronger relationships throughout the health system in Regina. It will be critical to involve and engage physicians early and often to help build the trust necessary to do this very important work."

Longer-term implementation of actions to address recommendations will take place over the next six to 12 months. The external review of Regina hospital physician culture is available at Saskatchewan.ca.

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