The consolidation of acute and emergency services in Winnipeg will be felt earlier than expected at Misericordia Health Centre.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has decided to cut overnight service in the urgent care centre starting July 5.

That means doctors will see patients between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. but not between 8 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.

One doctor and a nurse will remain on site to staff the urgent care centre overnight to continue to care for patients who come in during the day and evening, and to deal with any emergency situations which may arise at Misericordia Health Centre.

WRHA Chief Medical Officer Brock Wright said the health authority has decided to scale back the hours due in part to nursing vacancies.

Right now there's a 30 per cent vacancy rate within the urgent care centre, but some of those vacancies may be connected to things like maternity and medical leave.

Wright said the looming closure of the urgent care centre on Oct. 3 means some staff members are looking for jobs elsewhere.

"It can be challenging in those situations to retain staff," said Wright. "It's making it difficult to staff the urgent care centre 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

"We know that we're not going to be able to sustain that after July 5."

Staff who normally work overnight will be offered shifts during the day.

Wright said the WRHA decided to focus resources on staying open during the day until the scheduled closure of the Misericordia Urgent Care Centre on Oct. 3.

Since the announcement it would be closing in April, Wright said there has been a 12 per cent reduction in visits to the urgent care centre.

He said right now the urgent care centre sees about one patient per hour between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.

The WRHA said patients who would normally go to Misericordia will be directed to Health Sciences Centre or St. Boniface Hospital.

Wright said the WRHA is still working on a plan to address the needs of people who need to see an ophthalmologist in emergency situations.

"We're just working through that process as part of the implementation," he said.

While some patients go directly to Misericordia with an eye-related problem, some first seek care at other emergency departments.

As the health authority continues to work through the changes, Wright said there's no guarantee other hospitals won't face similar early closures.