Provincial Emergency Operations Centre takes on Covid-19 role

October 7, 2021, 10:44 am

Thursday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced the Provincial Command is being activated through the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) to lead the emergency management response to COVID-19.

"This is being done to better coordinate the pandemic response between government ministries and staff, ensure the right resources are in the right place at the right time and provide administrative support so health care workers can focus their efforts on providing the best possible care to patients," Premier Scott Moe said.

"Responsibility for public health recommendations and orders will continue to be managed by the Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Shahab."

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's PEOC has significant expertise and experience in coordinating and deploying emergency resources, and is closely connected to national and other provincial and territorial agencies to leverage support and resources when required; the PEOC is also able to access and coordinate interagency resources within Saskatchewan through various ministries, agencies and crowns.

The Provincial Command will be led by a joint management team of Marlo Pritchard, President of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Scott Livingstone, Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Max Hendricks, Deputy Minister of Health.

Effective immediately, the PEOC will be responsible for the operational, planning, logistical and administrative aspects of the emergency response to COVID-19, including:

ongoing inventory management of staffing across the healthcare system

coordination and deployment of provincial supports and activities across multiple sectors

The PEOC will also lead the dissemination of critical updates for the public and establish normalized briefings through media availability.

"This structure has worked extremely well during other provincial emergencies," Pritchard said. "The pressures in our healthcare system as a result of COVID-19 has demanded all the resources of the SHA, and now require the resources of the entire province through Provincial Command."

"Our healthcare system has been working to support the people of Saskatchewan, and this will ensure that Saskatchewan is supporting our healthcare system with every tool we have available," he said.

The PEOC is led by a joint management team with representatives from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, the Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. It is anticipated that Provincial Command will now be operational throughout the duration of the provincial emergency order, which was declared on September 13.