Sask. announces creation of breast health centre in Regina, expansion of screening eligibility

The Saskatchewan govern‐ ment says it will create a breast health centre in Regina and expand screen‐ ing eligibility to improve wait times in the province.

Health Minister Everett Hindley made the announce‐ ment on Tuesday. It comes after reporting highlighted a backlog of tests and monthslong waits for screening, prompting the province to send patients to a clinic in Calgary.

"Our hope is that this up‐ date today will provide reas‐ surance to patients about our level of commitments to health care in this province and to this issue in particu‐ lar," said Hindley.

The new centre will be lo‐ cated at Regina Centre Cross‐ ing on Albert St., and is slated to open during the 20242025 fiscal year.

It will operate similarly to an existing facility in Saska‐ toon, said Dr. Sarah Miller, a surgeon who provides breast care and was with Hindley during Tuesday's announce‐ ment.

The health centre will house services including di‐ agnostic imaging, consulta‐ tion with specialists and sur‐ geons, patient education, support and navigation, the province said. Family physi‐ cians and nurse practitioners will be able to refer patients to the breast health centre instead of having to co-ordi‐ nate referrals to multiple lo‐ cations.

"Breast care is complex and these are not simple, straightforward fixes," said Miller.

"Though the creation of a breast health centre is only one piece of a larger puzzle to ensuring a better patient experience and improving ac‐ cess to care, this represents a tremendous step forward."

WATCH| Sask. breast cancer patient still waiting for surgeon consultation 5 months after finding lump:

In Saskatchewan, breast cancer screening has been only open to women who are 50 years or older.

As part of Tuesday's an‐ nouncement, the province said screening eligibility will open to women who are 40 years or older starting in Jan‐ uary 2025.

The move is being wel‐ comed by Dense Breasts Canada, a non-profit organi‐ zation dedicated to raising awareness and advocating for breast cancer screening.

"This step will save lives by allowing earlier detection and treatment," said Jennie Dale, the organization's cofounder and executive direc‐ tor.

The expansion of eligibil‐ ity will make Saskatchewan the eighth province commit‐ ted to allowing screening at 40 years old, Dale said.

She said she was told that once the changes go into ef‐ fect, the Ministry of Health will send letters to remind women turning 40 that they can now receive a mammo‐ gram or other screening pro‐ cedure.

It's not clear what the cost of the announcements will be. Hindley said more details are coming as part of the provincial budget, which is set to be released later this month.

The Official Opposition said it has been calling for some of these changes for months.

In a statement, NDP health critic Vicki Mowat said the government created the crisis and that she doesn't have faith it will fix the prob‐ lem.

In November, Hindley confirmed that the average wait for breast cancer screen‐ ings was about 10 weeks. The goal is for the average wait time to be three weeks.

The province contracted Clearpoint - a private health company in Calgary - to offer 1,000 scans to eligible Saskatchewan patients on an urgent wait list.

That contract will run until March 2025.

On Tuesday, Hindley con‐ firmed that 188 patients have been referred to Clearpoint, with 131 having already un‐ dergone diagnostic proce‐ dures.

The province also boosted capacity in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw to ensure patients from Regina and southern Saskatchewan were able to receive care.

Since November 2023, 150 patients who were wait‐ ing for a long period of time or needed urgent care were able to receive diagnostic procedures in Moose Jaw or Saskatoon, the province said.