Winnipeg hospitals seeing increased patient demand: Shared Health

A new report from Shared Health shows even though Winnipeg hospitals are seeing increased patient demand, wait times are starting to see some improvements.

However, despite these improvements, the health organization said more still needs to be done to return wait times to pre-pandemic levels.

“Ongoing efforts to improve patient flow are showing improvement to wait times across Winnipeg, but we recognize many patients are continuing to wait longer than they should,” said Dr. Shawn Young, chief operating officer of HSC Winnipeg, in a news release.

“Our dedicated health-care professionals are providing excellent care for all patients but they too are feeling enormous strain as patient volumes and wait times continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels.”

According to the numbers released on Thursday, an average of 799 people visited Winnipeg emergency and urgent care sites every day in June – an increase of 29 patients year over year.

Despite this increase, median wait time improved by six minutes in June to 2.87 hours.

The report also notes that 90 per cent of patients were seen within eight hours in June. Though this is a 25-minute improvement from the previous month, it is still significantly above historical norms.

In June of 2019, the median wait time was less than two hours and 90 per cent of patients were seen in less than five hours.

Shared Health noted that initiatives have been introduced or are in the planning stages to help improve wait times. The organization added that it’s prioritizing the reduction of staffing vacancies through recruitment and retention efforts.

“We are grateful to physicians and staff working in emergency departments and urgent care centres for their dedication to patient care and the ideas they’ve brought forward so far to help address these challenges,” said Mike Nader, CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

“We know there is still much need for improvement and we remain open to innovative ideas and committed to implementing measures that will make a difference for patients, and for hospital staff.”