An ambulance drives past Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski)
The Manitoba government is rolling out expanded safety measures at hospitals across the province, including wider use of a mobile safety app and the addition of 128 institutional safety officers.
The SAFE mobile app — which provides real-time alerts, direct access to security and emergency notifications — is now available at St. Boniface Hospital, Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg, and Brandon Regional Health Centre. The province says Manitoba is the only health system in Canada using an integrated mobile safety alert platform of this kind.
The province is also funding 128 additional institutional safety officers across Manitoba, including 60 at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg and 18 at St. Boniface Hospital. Officers will be trained in crisis intervention, de-escalation and emergency response.
Other measures include installing amnesty lockers to prevent prohibited items from entering facilities, expanding surveillance systems and strengthening monitored access points.
At Health Sciences Centre, upgrades over the past year have included AI-enabled weapons detection systems, expanded CCTV coverage, improved cellular connectivity and increased collaboration with the Winnipeg Police Service.
Watch Thursday’s news conference:
