Tracker shows few empty ICU beds in Manitoba; hospitals operating at near capacity: NDP

The Manitoba NDP is calling attention to a provincial ICU bed tracker, which shows the province’s ICUs are operating at near capacity and there are few empty beds in the province.

The NDP made an announcement about the Shared Health tracker on Tuesday, explaining that it shows capacity and staffing levels in Manitoba’s major intensive care units, including Grace Hospital, the Brandon Regional Health Centre, and St. Boniface Hospital.

As of Tuesday, the tracker, which can be found online, shows all of these ICUs have between zero and two empty beds. However, three of these ICUs have pending admissions. 

The tracker shows that every ICU has more open beds than the number of nurses working.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said there is a crisis in Manitoba’s ICUs.

“We have been monitoring the site that Shared Health uses to track what is going on in ICUs, and over the past two days we have been at capacity in our intensive care unit system,” he said on Tuesday.

The NDP emphasized the fact that the tracker shows there are patients being housed ‘off-unit,’ as well as none who can be transferred.

According to the NDP, this shows the “critically ill nature of these patients.”

Kinew said the steps the Manitoba government has taken are not enough.

“If we look at the data, our health-care system is at capacity,” he said.

“ICUs are at the brink. Health-care staff are at risk of burning out.”

The NDP’s concerns come the day after CTV News Winnipeg reported that Health Minister Audrey Gordon and Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler have asked the Federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair for 15 to 30 ICU nurses for about six weeks.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Premier Heather Stefanson said the number of people with COVID-19 admitted to ICUs was relatively stable for a couple of months.

“There was a bit of a spike last week, it was concerning to us, that’s when we sent the letter out,” she said.

Stefanson said the government wants to ensure that it is protecting Manitobans.

“We’re trying to work with the nurses’ union, we’re trying to work with the college of nurses as well,” she said.

“Obviously, nursing is a challenge, not just here in Manitoba, but across the country. But we all need to work together towards that end goal of ensuring that patients in Manitoba get the health-care that they need when they need it.”

Stefanson said the province continues to ask for patience.

Kinew said the NDP is concerned that once the federal government responds to the province’s request, it’s unclear whether it will provide Manitoba with the additional capacity that the health-care system needs.

“We’re here again to reiterate our call for the provincial government to ask the military to come into Manitoba,” he said.