More Winnipeggers are leaving emergency rooms without being seen.
Numbers obtained by the PC Party of Manitoba show between April 2012 and March 2013 more than 28,000 people, or nearly 10 per cent of those who visited an ER, left without receiving treatment.
That’s 5,000 more than the previous year.
"Clearly these numbers are going in the wrong direction and let’s not lose sight of the fact that, at the end of the day, these are people who want services to be there," said Cameron Friesen, PC health critic.
"The average wait time to be seen in a Winnipeg hospital is zero to 1.5 hours," said Theresa Oswald, acting health minister during question period.
Oswald points to new measures to divert chronic users and less-serious cases away from the ERs.
The PCs worry more serious cases, such as heart and stroke patients, may not get the attention they need.
The province says nurses do follow-ups by phone with all patients who leave, adding the percentage of those who gave up on seeing a doctor dropped to 7.88 per cent last month.
- with a report from Jeff Keele
