‘Not going in the right direction’: Winnipeg hospital wait times on the rise, union says

Two years after the NDP were elected on a promise to fix health care, hospital wait times in Winnipeg have gone up. CTV’s Jeff Keele reports.

The latest numbers from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority show emergency department wait times are not trending in the right direction.

The median wait time in Winnipeg in December 2023 was four hours — an annual high. That’s compared to the peak so far this year in February at 3.97 hours. The numbers dipped but rose again in July to a median wait time of 3.65 hours.

All those numbers are higher than the median wait time of 3.23 hours in August 2023, which was two months before the Manitoba NDP took office.

Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson said the time for action is now.

“What we’re hearing from both our nurses and the public is wait times are increasing in our ER’s and our urgent cares, so we’re definitely not going in the right direction,” Jackson said.

Premier Wab Kinew and his NDP government promised to fix health care during the election campaign two years ago.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said since taking office, they’ve added more hospital beds, 900 net new nurses, 200 doctors and hundreds of other health care workers. Primary clinic hours have also been extended, and new minor injury clinics have opened.

As well, Asagwara said they are planning to add more doctors to emergency rooms and improve Health Links.

“What we need is a long-term sustainable trend in the right direction, a meaningful change, that does take time, but we’re going to continue doing the work so Manitobans will see that happen,” Asagwara said.

The minister said other provinces are facing similar challenges, calling this a complex problem that will take time to mend.

“The reality is we’re dealing with years of massive closures and cuts to emergency rooms.”

Jackson said despite the announcements of new staff, their members aren’t noticing a difference, as they are still working overtime to fill gaps.

“I think that the time for playing the blame game and blaming the previous government has to stop,” Jackson said.

The NDP has also promised to reopen the emergency department at the Victoria Hospital.