Manitoba adds another physician position at HSC to address wait times

More doctors will be available at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) as the Manitoba government works to reduce wait times in the emergency department.

Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced Friday more physician hours will be available at the minor treatment clinic at HSC.

One physician position will be added at the clinic for six hours a day, seven days a week. This position will be in place for a four-week pilot project.

"Too often Manitobans with less urgent needs are waiting too long, far too long in emergency departments for the care that they need," said Asagwara. "We're seeing this happen in very real time here at HSC with extremely high wait times and patient volumes in the emergency room."

They said this change will allow patients waiting in the emergency room with minor injuries or symptoms to be referred to the clinic and open up space for those people who are in need of immediate care.

The clinic was established in August and Dr. Manon Pelletier, the chief medical officer of HSC, said it has been a success with around 2,100 patients sent to the clinic since it opened.

"These are the patients who would typically wait the longest to be seen in our emergency department. When they're moved to the clinic, they're now being seen, treated and are out the door in about two hours," said Pelletier.

She also noted the clinic provides access to some same-day procedures which is also helping with inpatient capacity.

The goal is to have one physician and one nurse practitioner in the clinic at the same time and with the added position, Pelletier said it will help to reduce wait times even further and provide care to more people.

"We're able to pull a lot more patients and see them a lot sooner," she said. "We could probably see upwards of a couple dozen more patients a day with another provider depending on the need."

Dr. Shawn Young, the chief operating officer at HSC, said about a third of patients in the emergency department are less acute patients who are able to visit the minor treatment clinic.

When asked why this position will only be available for four weeks, Asagwara said the government wants to look at the data from the project before determining next steps.

"Piloting this for four weeks will allow for us to get a deeper understanding of the impacts of adding this capacity and then having a good understanding of the opportunities moving forward," said Asagwara. "If it's expanded, maybe we enhance hours beyond that, maybe we extend the duration, maybe we look at applying this model to other sites and help address pressure issues there."

They added this change might not seem like a significant adjustment but the government has heard from front-line workers who say this will make an immediate impact.

Asagwara said this four-week pilot project is expected to cost around $33,000.

In a statement from Doctors Manitoba, a spokesperson said the additional coverage is a positive step forward.

"We are also encouraged the province is focused on adding more inpatient hospital beds too as this is the most important action needed to reduce ER wait times for Manitobans," the spokesperson said.