Doctors Manitoba warns of emergency room closures over holidays

Doctors Manitoba is warning Manitobans that emergency rooms in rural and northern parts of the province might not be open when they need them.

According to a news release, the organization said only 18 hospital ERs are currently scheduled to be open 24/7 in December. It also found 28 health centre ERs will be fully closed over the holidays, while 24 will have limited hours or frequent closures.

“Manitobans who live in Winnipeg have an expectation that when they show up at HSC or they show up at St Boniface, that the emergency room doors are always open,” said Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president-elect of Doctors Manitoba. “But those of us that live in rural Manitoba know that that's not always the case. And depending on where you live, the emergency medicine services may actually be quite unpredictable.”

Desilets, who works as a doctor in Neepawa, said staffing issues are the main reasons for the inconsistent operating hours.

“These shortages are not a new problem,” she said. “Many of the facilities that are open, whether that be for only 12 hours a day or for those who are open 24/7, what we're hearing is that those facilities are open, but only by a thread.

“So it might even come down to one doctor or one nurse on their staffing complement that would make it or break it in terms of being open or not.”

The organization is urging Manitobans to check out the Rural Care website created by Doctors Manitoba if they’re travelling over the holidays. The site contains schedules for local ERs across Manitoba and information on what to do in a medical emergency.

Desilets said Doctors Manitoba will continue to raise the issue of physician recruitment and retention with the province to help address the shortfalls.