The Manitoba government is announcing 35 medicine, 10 psychiatric and five surgical beds will be added at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Winnipeg this year as part of ongoing efforts to expand inpatient capacity, reduce pressure on emergency departments and increase surgical capacity.
“These beds will reduce overcrowding in HSC’s emergency department, meaning less time spent in the waiting room,” said Premier Wab Kinew. “It’s going to help less acute patients, like seniors waiting to get into long-term care, get the care they need. Our budget delivers on our commitment to rebuild health care with a focus on staffing up the system after years of cuts. These beds will help make a difference.”
Budget 2024 allocates over $65-million to reduce emergency room wait times to provide better patient care, faster. This includes staffing funding for a total of 151 new acute care beds at hospitals across the province including those at HSC, because shortages of acute care beds exacerbate overcrowding in emergency departments, noted the premier. 27 medicine beds are staffed and have already opened.
“Our government is helping lower wait times in Manitoba’s busiest emergency room by adding beds where they’re needed most, in hospital wards and units that were running over capacity for years,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara. “After seven years of cuts, we’re rebuilding health care in Manitoba. We’re doing the work to staff up in health care, while adding beds and surgical capacity where they’re needed most including at HSC.”
The minister noted the bed expansion at HSC builds on similar investments at other health-care facilities. Grace Hospital is in the process of opening 31 new medical and surgical beds including 10 as part of a new family medicine program being established. Since they were announced in November, five have been staffed and opened to provide care to Manitobans. Another 36 acute care beds at St. Boniface Hospital will open in phases beginning later this spring, the minister added.
“Increasing inpatient capacity at HSC is integral to our efforts to provide timely care and reduce wait times for patients visiting our emergency department,” said Dr. Manon Pelletier, chief medical officer, Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg. “Expediting admission to inpatient units will significantly improve the care these patients receive while freeing up treatment spaces in the emergency department, which will allow more people to be seen and treated in a timely manner.”
