Nine new beds to expand Dauphin hospital capacity

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This article was published 24/01/2024 (633 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Dauphin Regional Health Centre was the latest stop on the NDP government’s circuit of western Manitoba, as it spends the week in the region for a caucus retreat.

On Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew announced nine beds will be added to the local health centre as part of a renovation project that is also expanding treatment and care space for cancer patients.

“What we’re really talking about is staff,” Kinew said. “We’re talking about hiring more people to staff the beds to be able to care for you, the patients.”

Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara visited the Dauphin hospital Wednesday to view the project and meet with staff.

The pair were also in Neepawa on Monday to cut the ribbon on the town’s new training centre, which is currently hosting Assiniboine Community College’s practical nursing program and a class of 20 students expected to graduate within two years.

Prairie Mountain Health chief executive officer Brian Schoonbaert said Phase 1 of the two-part renovation project to expand CancerCare Manitoba services in Dauphin opened in January.

The first floor was renovated to expand the space by 50 per cent. It now has a second exam room and five spacious, yet private, treatment spaces, Schoonbaert said.

The first patient was seen earlier this month, after the work was completed late last year.

A dedicated endoscopy suite will also open soon, the CEO said.

Schoonbaert acknowledged finding health-care workers to fill jobs in Dauphin — about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg — has been a challenge. As many as two dozen new positions may be required to support the expansion.

“Lately, we’ve been seeing some improvements in our staffing,” Schoonbaert said. “We figure that these jobs, too, we’ll have to use agency nurses. That’s something we have to do, not something we want to do, but we want to make sure that we’re offering the services that are needed.”

Once fully operational, up to 300 more endoscopies will be able to be performed each year, and space in operating rooms will be freed up.

“Expanding CancerCare capacity in these locations shows that commitment of our government, and the health partners, and the communities to provide care locally whenever possible,” said CancerCare Manitoba president Dr. Sri Navaratnam.

“Being closer to home and closer to the support of family and friends makes the cancer journey somewhat easier.”

Kinew said spaces on the second and third floors will be converted to accommodate seven new medicine and two new general surgery beds, as part of the second phase of a broader renovation expected to be completed at the end of the summer. The third floor will also host a new physiotherapy area.

The NDP premier said the renovation will create more space for cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and increase capacity for endoscopy procedures.

“Our hope at the end of the day is that more people in rural Manitoba will hear those four magic words: ‘You are cancer-free,’” Kinew said. “We want more families to be able to hear those words.”

Asagwara said the bed expansion is part of a $7.8-million capital investment at DRHC. The goal is to reduce surgery wait times and to improve care for residents of the Parkland region.

DRHC is the second-largest hospital within Prairie Mountain.

— with files from Chris Kitching

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca