Saskatchewan: Canada’s first provincial department of surgery

The establishment of a single health authority in Saskatchewan in 2017 paved the way for the creation of the provincial Department of Surgery that oversees surgical services and academic activities across the province of Saskatchewan. The consolidation of surgical activities under 1 administrative infrastructure and leadership facilitated a coordinated delivery of surgical care to the people of Saskatchewan and notably increased academic productivity. The value of a provincial surgical department was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic and enabled a rapid and cohesive response to the challenges of surgical service delivery provincewide. Although this model of a provincial department may not be able to be applied to every jurisdiction, it has worked well in a province of 1.18 million people and 252 surgeons. A major achievement of this model has been the enhancement of communication, coordination and collaboration among 14 surgical sites and their surgeons.