REGINA — Saskatchewan health-care facilities are opening their doors 24 hours a day, seven days a week to families visiting patients.
Health Minister Dustin Duncan says Saskatchewan is the first Canadian province to welcome families around the clock.
Duncan says the change recognizes that loved ones are not simply visitors and play an essential role in improving a patient's health.
The province says allowing families more time to visit can lead to increased co-ordination of care with front-line staff, fewer medication errors and fewer readmissions.
Patients will get to decide whether they want visitors 24 hours a day.
They will also define who they consider to be family — relatives or other people they are close to.
