COVID-19

April 20, 2023

As of 12pm today Masks will no longer be mandatory in the clinic.  However, if you have ANY symptoms of a viral infection, you will be asked to wear a mask.

Please be respectful as we are still trying to keep our Physicians, Staff & Patients safe.

February 17, 2022

With the provincial mandate changing on February 28, 2022, we wanted to take the time to let our patients know that masks will still be required when visiting our office in all public areas (this means your mask must remain on while in the exam room unless the doctor asks you to remove it for examination).  We will also maintain our current policies on screening patients for COVID-19.  Many of our patients are under the age of vaccination or are immune compromised and we want to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep our patients as well as our staff safe and healthy.

We thank you for your understanding.

The Physicians & Staff at Herold Road

September 20, 2021

Our Policies Regarding COVID Vaccination and COVID Vaccine Exemptions

Our clinic physicians and staff are strong supporters of COVID vaccinations.  As medical scientists, we recognize the importance of vaccination as prophylaxis for this very communicable disease.  COVID is overwhelming our Province’s health-care resources and we are concerned for the well-being of our patients. COVID vaccination is a proactive measure that contributes to the safety of our patients, health team members, and their families and friends by reducing the probability of infection, the severity of infection, the rate of transmission to others, and finally, the chance of dying.

Our patients with vaccine hesitancy often pose questions to us around safety and efficacy of the COVID vaccines.  These vaccines are highly efficacious (94% effective in preventing severe disease, hospitalizations and death).  This outcome is far better than most medications and treatments we routinely give to patients.

The incidence of side effects attributable to COVID vaccination is also exceedingly rare, and again less prevalent than those associated with routinely prescribed treatments or patient life-style choices.  For example, the risk of blood clots associated with Astra Zeneca vaccination is 0.00004% vs. birth control pill 0.75% or smoking 0.18%.

mRNA technology (the basis of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines) is not as new as some patients may believe.  This highly acclaimed technology has been around since the 1990’s.  We firmly believe that it will be the foundation for the development of most new vaccines and new medical treatments, possibly including cancer treatments. We find this technology exciting and are happy to embrace it.  Most other vaccines contain killed viruses or virus particles which allow our bodies to develop protective antibodies. mRNA vaccines do not contain any virus – live or killed.  Instead, mRNA vaccines carry instructions of the spike protein which tell our cells how to actually make the spike protein.  Since the spike protein is a ‘foreign protein’ unknown to our body, we develop antibodies to it which in turn confer protection to the actual COVID virus.  As soon as the mRNA instructions are complete our cells destroy them.  mRNA vaccines do not enter into our cell nucleus where our DNA is, so the vaccine does not interact with, or alter, our DNA. 

The only medical exemption for COVID vaccination recognized by the Saskatchewan Health Authority is anaphylaxis to one of the existing COVID vaccines or one of its constituents.  This is exceedingly rare.  Please do not ask our physicians for a medical exemption from COVID vaccination unless you have a documented history of anaphylaxis.  Issuing exemptions outside this narrow exception would be a serious violation of health regulations and an egregious breech of our ethical obligations, and accordingly, we are not prepared to entertain these requests.

July 21, 2021
Effective July 30, 2021 our physicians will no longer be accepting telephone visits during the evening and weekend after hours clinics. These clinics will be reserved for in person visits only. As usual you will need to call into the office when you arrive to the parking lot to check in and go over the Covid screening with our reception staff.
Telephone appointments are still available if appropriate during regular office hours 8am-430pm Monday to Friday.

July 9, 2021

With the provincial mandate changing on July 11, we wanted to take the time to let our patients know that masks will still be required when visiting our office in all public areas (this means your mask must remain on while in the exam room unless the doctor asks you to remove it for examination).  We will also maintain our current policies on screening patients for COVID-19.  Many of our patients are under the age of vaccination or are immune compromised and we want to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep our patients as well as our staff safe and healthy.

We thank you for your understanding.

The Physicians & Staff at Herold Road

Herold Road Family Physicians Pre-Appointment COVID Screening

This is applicable to all within your household who will be seeing any of our physicians. If you answer YES to any of the following questions please contact our reception staff to schedule or change your appointment to a telephone consultation @ 306-374-2404 Ext 2

  1. In the last 14 days have you had a fever?
  2. Have you had new or worsening  respiratory symptoms NOT related to environmental or seasonal allergies such as any of the following…
    1. Cough
    2. Shortness of Breath
    3. Difficulty Breathing
    4. Sore Throat
    5. Runny Nose
  3. Have you had any of the following symptoms…
    1. Chills
    2. Aches and pains
    3. the loss of sense of taste or smell
    4. Headache
    5. Acute confusion or functional decline (including falls)?
  4. Traveled outside of Canada?
  5. Had close or prolonged contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID 19?

Thank you for continuing to keep our Physicians, Staff and our facility safe!

April 20, 2021

For more information on the Covid19 variant of concern please copy and paste  the link below to your browser.

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/-/media/files/coronavirus/voc/voc-qa.pdf

January 21, 2021

COVID19 VACCINE

The availability of the COVID19 vaccine in Saskatchewan is exciting, and gives us hope that the end of the pandemic is near.

Our phones have been ringing off the hook with questions about this vaccine. At this time, our receptionists are unable to provide any insight on timelines for availability or how / when this will be administered to those who seek to receive one.

We invite you to book a telephone assessment with your family doctor to discuss your concerns regarding how the vaccine will affect you personally and if it is the right choice for you and your family.

In the meantime, please keep an eye on the Government of Saskatchewan website for details as they emerge.

CHANGES TO OUT OF PROVINCE TELEPHONE ASSESSMENTS

Unfortunately, if you have an out-of-province health card, this does mean you will be charged an up front cost of $35.

Payable via telephone with Visa, Visa Debit or Mastercard. If using debit or cash, you will be asked to come to our office in person to pay prior to your appointment.  

As of Jan 1, 2021, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health billing guidelines state that telephone assessments will no longer be funded unless you have a Saskatchewan Health Card. Therefore, effective immediately, ALL out of province patients must pre-pay for their telephone assessment.

January 6, 2021

With so much confusion about when to self isolate, please copy and paste the link below to your browser and it will explain the procedures to take.

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/-/media/files/coronavirus/covid-main/know-when-to-self-isolate.pdf

October 13, 2020

Important Announcement from SHA:

Effective at 4:00 p.m. October 8, 2020, the City of Saskatoon has been declared an Area of Elevated Concern by Medical Health Officers due to increased community transmission activity.

What does this mean for community family physicians? Patients who live in Saskatoon will have a positive screen and even if they are asymptomatic, it is recommended to use full PPE when seeing them in the office. If the appointment can be postponed or changed to a virtual appointment, please do so.

Message to our Patients:

Herold Road Family physicians wishes to ensure our patients that our flu shot clinics will proceed as planned. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with your medical concerns during this time and we will determine how to best meet your medical needs in a safe and comprehensive manner.

Book an Appointment

One of our wonderful staff are waiting to assist you!

Call Today 306-374-2404