The Saskatchewan Health Authority is making protective services officers a permanent fixture at Lloydminster Hospital after a year-long trial aimed at reducing violence against health-care workers.
Lloydminster was one of three communities that piloted the program in 2025, along with Prince Albert and North Battleford. The trial focused on preventing violence, de-escalating tense situations and providing a physical response when care teams needed it.
The SHA says the pilot worked well enough to make it permanent at all three original sites.
The health authority is now replicating the program in five more communities: La Loche, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Nipawin and Melfort. Officers with the Corps of Commissionaires, the vendor selected through a procurement process, will begin work at those sites through August 2026.
Three additional communities, Kamsack, Weyburn and Shellbrook, are still waiting. The SHA says their rollout has been delayed by collective bargaining requirements and technical issues involving CUPE.
“The safety of Saskatchewan Health Authority patients and their families, employees, physicians, volunteers, and our communities is our top priority,” said Rod MacKenzie, executive director of provincial clinical and support services-community care for the SHA.
“These measures are about prevention and protection,” said Vince Ashmeade, SHA director of protective services and emergency management. “Health-care workers deserve to feel safe in their workplace, and patients should feel secure when accessing care.”
The SHA is also taking part in an independent review of protective services protocols, announced by the Ministry of Health in spring 2026. The health authority says the review is meant to strengthen safety across the system.
The SHA has not released specific details on staffing levels or coverage hours at the Lloydminster site.
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