Winnipeg ER wait times decline in December

Posted: 3:25 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023

Fewer patients showing up at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres in December meant lower wait times, but the interval is still too long, Health Sciences Centre’s chief operating officer says.

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Fewer patients showing up at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres in December meant lower wait times, but the interval is still too long, Health Sciences Centre’s chief operating officer says.

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This article was published 26/01/2023 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fewer patients showing up at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres in December meant lower wait times, but the interval is still too long, Health Sciences Centre’s chief operating officer says.

The median wait time in December was 2.6 hours, while the 90th percentile wait was 7.22 hours, reflecting an improvement of 35 and 37 minutes, respectively, according to Shared Health and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority data.

“We are encouraged to see improvements but remain unsatisfied by current wait times, which are still higher than any of us working in health care would like,” Dr. Shawn Young said in a Thursday news release from Shared Health.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Fewer patients showing up at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres in December meant lower wait times, but the interval is still too long, says Dr. Shawn Young, Health Sciences Centre’s chief operating officer. — MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Fewer patients showing up at Winnipeg ERs and urgent care centres in December meant lower wait times, but the interval is still too long, says Dr. Shawn Young, Health Sciences Centre’s chief operating officer.

“We remain committed to continuing our work to improve patient flow in our hospitals, and we thank our physicians and staff for their ongoing efforts to provide patient care during this challenging period.”

Patients who need to be admitted to hospital aren’t waiting as long in the ER for a hospital bed, according to the December data. However, the median wait was still almost a full day.

“The median length of stay for patients in emergency or urgent care who were awaiting admission to an inpatient unit was 19.82 hours in December. This is an improvement of approximately two hours, 22 minutes from the previous month,” the news release stated.