The Manitoba government could turn to the military for help as it struggles with staff shortages, overcrowding, and in some cases the temporary closure of emergency rooms.
The lack of staff is creating a bottleneck in the health care system. It is such a serious problem that Prime Minister Heather Stefanson does not rule out asking for military aid.
“We will continue to assess the situation [Emergency Management Office]and if necessary, we will take action, “Stefanson told a news conference on Tuesday.
The Manitoba Nurses Union said the current situation in emergency rooms is fueling exhaustion and pushing nurses to quit their jobs. He said in some cases, patients are being put in rest rooms and hallways to help clean up the emergency room.
“We spend all day every day apologizing,” said Darlene Jackson, president of the union. “Apologizing to patients because we haven’t had time to get there as fast as they deserve because when you add more patients, they don’t add more nurses.”
According to Jackson, there are about 2,500 vacancies in Manitoba that affect every corner of the province.
On Friday, the Pine Falls health resort was forced to temporarily close its emergency department due to a lack of staff.
Health Minister Audrey Gordon said solving the problem was a priority.
“We are committed to working with these communities to get these emergency departments reopened, to provide them with staff,” Gordon said.
He said the province is working to acquire, train and retain more nurses and noted that the province is actively meeting with leading health leaders to find more solutions.
“We know the system is under incredible pressure right now and we are around a table of solutions talking about how we can alleviate those pressures,” he said.
In a statement to CTV News, Shared Health said the current waiting times are a concern for everyone in the healthcare system.
He noted that patients who require urgent care continue to be visited quickly and that all patients are selected on arrival.
The health care provider said ambulances are taking patients of lesser severity to emergency care centers instead of emergency rooms and are implementing a triage health care model to help relieve stress.
As these temporary solutions work to reduce the burden, the prime minister says the province is monitoring whether more aid is needed.
“It’s accessed day by day, hour by hour throughout our system. We will continue to work closely with Shared Health to make sure we overcome some of these challenges,” Stefanson said.