Health Sciences Centre (FILE)
WINNIPEG — More physician hours at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg are being added to reduce patient wait times in the emergency department.
The four-week pilot project will target HSC‘s minor treatment clinic and include provincial funding for one more physician for six hours per day, seven days per week.
“Addressing the wait times in our emergency rooms is the first and most critical step in our plan to fix health care after years of damage,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara.
“This initiative will add immediate capacity to the health-care system and help families get care quicker. It will help to relieve the pressure on the emergency department and free up space for Manitobans who need it most.”
The clinic provides care to patients with non-urgent illnesses or injuries referred from the facility’s emergency department as well as walk-in care to those without primary care providers.
In response to Friday’s announcement, Tory MLA Kathleen Cook, PC Shadow Minister for Health, said: “It’s great to see the expansion of a successful PC initiative, even if it is temporary. However, we are still waiting for any plan from the NDP to add much needed staff to our healthcare system. One doctor for just four weeks certainly won’t cut it.”
