The Manitoba government is adding 68 transitional care beds to facilities across the province in an effort to reduce wait times in emergency departments and ease access block within hospitals.

“These beds are about improving care for you and reducing wait times for everyone in Manitoba,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara. “The previous government actually cut beds and capacity from the system. When we were elected, it was clear something needed to be done to address access block in emergency departments, which happens when admitted patients wait to be placed in appropriate care and it backs up in the emergency waiting room. A bed can’t open without the staff in place, so we’re moving forward methodically to ensure patients get safe care. We’ve made good progress – with almost half of these beds already open and the rest coming by the end of the year.”

Transitional care beds are designed specifically to help flow patients out of acute care beds and into spaces where they can await long-term health-care services while receiving the right type of care they need. This helps flow patients out of emergency departments and works to reduce wait times. Most often, these are high-needs seniors who are waiting in acute care wards for admission to a personal care home, noted the minister, but can also be patients who require some level of care, like physiotherapy, before they can be discharged or patients who would otherwise be discharged without housing in place.

The 68 beds announced today will serve all these types of patients and will reduce access block in emergency departments, the minister noted. The province is investing $1.7 million in capital and $3.7 million annually to add:

  • 15 transitional care beds in Selkirk to support seniors and patients receiving additional care;
  • 8 transitional care beds to Misericordia Health Centre to support seniors and patients receiving additional care;
  • 25 transitional care beds to Holy Family Personal Care Home to support seniors waiting to be admitted into a personal care home of their choice; and
  • 20 transitional care beds to St. Boniface Street Links’ 24-7 safe space program for patients discharged from hospital without housing in place.

“Having worked for over 40 years in the Selkirk emergency room, I see the need to improve patient flow to reduce waits and improve care,” said Yvonne Oxer, a nurse in Selkirk who works in the transitional care unit. “Our goal in this unit is to provide a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for patients who no longer require acute care services but still need support as they transition out of hospital.”

So far, 35 of the announced beds are staffed and operational, with a plan to have them entirely open by the end of the year, the minister noted.