There are renewed calls for the provincial government to take a closer look at the closure of Misericordia Urgent Care Centre.

A new letter from Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (EPSOM) said the closure puts the future of eye care services at dire risk.

The letter asks the Health Minister and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to reconsider closing Urgent Care.

Sue Hudson trusts the eye care services at Misericordia Health Centre. On Monday, Hudson had an appointment to have a mole examined on her eye. Later this year, her husband Peter will have cataract surgery. 

"I think it's a travesty. I think people will really be lost,” she said.

EPSOM Chair Jennifer Rahman said Misericordia Urgent Care makes timely and appropriate referrals to eye care services which operate within the health centre.

It sees about 39,000 patients a year, 4,500 of them emergencies.

“We don't really understand that decision, and we are hoping they take it back,” said Rahman.

"At Misericordia we have a specialized centre for eye care and we work in collaboration with the urgent care to facilitate safe care of our patients,” she said.

WRHA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brock Wright said most eye doctors in the city are located at Misericordia, but 2,800 patients with eye problems went elsewhere for care.

Wright said after Misericordia Urgent Care closes, eye patients will still be able to access specialized services at the centre.

"We are also working with the Misericordia Health Centre to make sure they can also access urgent care by going directly to the eye clinic, and not going through an urgent care centre," Wright said Monday. 

Wright said if a patient has major eye trauma they'll be brought to Health Sciences Centre. An eye doctor then travels to HSC to administer care.

He said the full details surrounding the changes will be announced before Misericordia Urgent Care closes, sometime this fall. An exact closure date hasn't been finalized.

Due to the Point Douglas by-election, Manitoba's Election Financing Act places restrictions on government communications.