Condition critical
Health Sciences Centre's adult emergency department in Manitoba is experiencing critical conditions. Treatment beds are constantly filled with sick patients, and another dozen or so receive care on stretchers in the hallways. Despite this, there is only one nurse available to attend to them. On average, about 30 to 40 people wait in the waiting room, often for hours, before being seen by a doctor.
Some leave due to the long wait and return days later, sicker than before. ER staff warn that the situation is worse than ever, with wait times continuing to rise despite government promises to improve them. The median wait time now stands at 4.47 hours, with the 90th percentile reaching 12.3 hours in June. Many patients remain in the ER because there are no available beds in the wards, as these are occupied by patients waiting for alternative level of care.
This has led to WRHA directing three long-term care centers to accommodate hospital patients. ER doctors can still quickly attend to life-threatening cases, but those who require hospitalization but are not in imminent danger often have to wait for hours or days to see a doctor or be admitted, leading to their condition worsening.
Written by urgent.news from Winnipeg Free Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
