Skip to main content

New urologic centre at HSC will improve wait times, patient care

(Josh Crabb/CTV News) (Josh Crabb/CTV News)
Share

A new urologic centre is being developed at the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) where up to 10,000 Manitobans a year will receive care.

The HSC Foundation and Manitoba government announced the new centre on Wednesday, noting it will shorten wait times and improve patient outcomes.

Jonathan Lyon, president and CEO of the HSC Foundation, said the Manitoba Urologic Centre will help HSC to better respond to the community’s needs.

“Manitobans increasingly understand that philanthropy plays a key role in the delivery of health care and we couldn’t be more pleased to support a worthwhile initiative that will help thousands of patients per year,” he said in a news release.

The new centre will provide care to those needing transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), kidney stone removal, treatment of certain types of bladder cancer, as well as other conditions.

With the creation of the new centre, wait times for a number of procedures will drop from a year to just weeks or days. For those living in rural and northern Manitoba, the new centre will work toward having required procedures performed on the same day as diagnosis.

“This is a very important development for HSC and our patients,” said Dr. Jeff Saranchuk, a urologist at HSC.

“Under the status quo, rural and remote patients often have to make several trips over many months to get the complete care they need. Other patients experience discomfort while waiting for their kidney stones to be treated. We will now have the capacity to treat people more quickly—sometimes within days—with the best technology available.”

The news release notes that many procedures that currently take place in operating rooms will soon take place at the centre, which will free up space and increase Manitoba’s surgical capacity.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the urologic centre marks an important milestone for health care in the province.

“The frontline medical staff at HSC will be able to provide the highest level of care to Manitobans while using the most modern equipment and procedures,” she said.

“We are grateful for the vision and generosity of the Foundation and its donors.”

The urologic centre is expected to open by the end of 2023. It will be located on the HSC campus at the Notre Dame Pavilion.

HSC’s current urology space will be redeveloped for other high-priority acute care needs.

The HSC Foundation and its donors will fund the cost of construction and equipment acquisition, and the province will pay for ongoing operating costs at the centre.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Stay Connected