Province unveils plan to discharge patients faster, reduce hospital backlogs

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This article was published 24/11/2023 (684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a move to get patients discharged more quickly, dozens of jobs will be posted for social workers, rehabilitation assistants, physiotherapists and other health-care professionals to staff hospitals in Winnipeg, Selkirk and Brandon.

The notices will be up immediately — in a bid to encourage professionals to return to work or increase their hours if they’ve left the system or suffered burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said during a news conference Friday at Health Sciences Centre.

The province is set to spend $2.75 million on the additional 74 full-time positions: 25 rehabilitation assistants, 14 occupational therapists, 14 physiotherapists, 19.5 social workers and 1.5 speech pathologists.

The goal is to give hospitals enough staff to allow the discharge of patients seven days a week, rather than five, to combat the “weekend effect” it says is clogging ERs and contributing to long wait times.

Front-line health workers have been asking for this to be done for years, Asagwara said, adding the plan will provide “immediate relief” to hospital bottlenecks.

“It will have a positive ripple effect across our health-care system,” the Union Station MLA said. “This is the first of many steps that our team is going to take to fix health care in our province.”

Asked about the recruitment strategy, Asagwara said the government has been trying to spread the message it respects health-care workers and wants to offer a better work-life balance.

Winnipeg logs longer hospital stays than other major Canadian cities despite having fewer ER visits per capita, the health minister said, because other jurisdictions have higher discharge rates.

The problem with patient flow through emergency departments has been well-documented. Patients wait in the ER for hours or even days because they need to be admitted to hospital but there’s no bed for them.

Last weekend, a patient died in the Grace Hospital ER hallway after waiting 33 hours for a bed. The health minister described the incident as a tragedy and expressed condolences for the patient’s family.

“It’s with that family in mind, and the team there (at Grace) in mind, that some of these actions are also being taken,” Asagwara said.

A lack of social workers and other professionals working weekends has left patients without proper supports to discharge them from hospital sooner, Asagwara added. Health-care professionals have repeatedly called for a seven-day discharge plan but it was never enacted, the minister said.

HSC chief operating officer Dr. Shawn Young said the ability to discharge patients seven days a week will provide relief and reduce backlogs.

“People are presenting (to hospital) seven days a week at all hours. Our discharges should reflect that,” Young said.

No discharge rate targets or reduced ER wait time targets were provided Friday.

Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals president Jason Linklater said adding more allied health professionals — including occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers — is part of the solution to the local ER crisis.

Linklater said he’s “energized” about Friday’s announcement as a first step, adding he spoke to the health minister over the past week — something he couldn’t do under the former Tory government. (The NDP claimed a majority win in the Oct. 3 election, reducing the Tories to Opposition after seven years in power.)

“The conversation between the front line and the previous government was non-existent. We didn’t have a say in the solutions that we could offer and now that we see that happening. I certainly think there will be buy-in from the front line to participate in those types of discussions.”

For this plan to work, community support programs and personal care homes also need to have intake on weekends, so patients have a safe place to land once they’re out of hospital, Linklater said.

Health-care managers also bear responsibility in making sure the workplace runs in a positive way, he added.

“The challenge is going to be re-engaging people and providing them faith that when they come back to the public system (or coming back to full-time hours) that they’re coming back to a situation that has good communication and has a healthy work environment.”

Progressive Conservative health-care critic Kathleen Cook (MLA for Roblin) criticized the lack of specifics in the provincial announcement.

“This is the second week in a row that the NDP has neglected to include key details in a health announcement; specifically, how many staff will be added, where they’ll come from and when they’ll be in place. Without a plan to train, recruit and retain staff, today’s announcement is just talk. Manitobans expect action,” she said in a written statement.

More details on the government’s wait-times plan are set to be announced next week, Asagwara said.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca