Manitoba government says new minor illness clinic first of many

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This article was published 28/03/2024 (530 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — The Manitoba government has announced a new minor injury and illness clinic will open in Brandon in the fall.

The province says the clinic is part of a $17-million plan to open eight such clinics across Manitoba and reduce the demand on hospital emergency departments.

Premier Wab Kinew says details will be released in the provincial budget on Tuesday.

“This minor injury and illness clinic effectively functions like an urgent care centre,” said Kinew as he addressed a crowd of hospital staff during a news conference at the Brandon hospital.

“It’s for those maybe less-acute conditions — you get hurt at the hockey game, your kid has a fall on the playground, maybe you have strep or some other condition that’s maybe not quite at the level of an ER, but you do need to get it addressed right away.”

The Brandon clinic is to be staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses, and operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Patients will be able to book same-day appointments and connect with providers via virtual care either by phone or online, with the hope of reducing the number of people who go to the emergency room, which will reduce wait times, said Prairie Mountain Health CEO Brian Schoonbaert.

The plan is to open an interim minor injury and illness clinic this September, said Schoonbaert, who confirmed the Brandon Clinic, located one block west of the hospital, is a potential site.

“We have a number of locations that we’ve already looked at and we have some possibilities, but we just want to take one more look to see if there’s anything better,” he said.

“We are looking at potentially a short term and longer term, so as not to restrict our ability to expand as necessary.”

The Brandon Clinic discontinued walk-in care in July 2023 because of a shortage of family physicians.

When asked about finding front-line health-care workers to staff the clinic, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said staffing is the No. 1 priority.

“There’s no one silver bullet in terms of addressing the staffing challenges, but there are many different approaches that we have to be able to take simultaneously to meet those needs,” Asagwara said.

“(The clinic will) provide the opportunity for staff across many disciplines to be able to work in a setting that we know is very successful, to provide unique training opportunities to create a team-based model of care…” Asagwara added.

“This is a model that’s going to be very, very attractive for health-care workers, not only in Brandon, but throughout the Westman.”

Kinew said while the new clinic will provide a level of care that can meet patients’ needs, it will also be a “powerful new recruiting tool.”

“Really, the only place that somebody would have access to right now is in Winnipeg, the minor injury and illness clinic on Corydon (Avenue). And we’re saying hey, folks in Brandon should have access to the same level of care, too. That’s what this commitment is all about.”

Progressive Conservative MLA Wayne Balcaen, who represents Brandon West, said there are currently more than 100 job openings for doctors and nurses in the Prairie Mountain Health Region.

He suggested the NDP came to Brandon empty-handed.

“An empty clinic won’t treat patients, and in my time, the NDP still have not come forward with a credible plan to fill health-care vacancies, not create more of them … Alluding to the money that is in this budget, and telling workers to pick up more shifts while making their announcements, is an insult, quite frankly,” Balcaen said.

As Kinew and Asagwara encouraged the health workers to attend their listening tour set for Thursday at the Brandon hospital.

The premier and health minister announced the listening tour last November, saying it would give health-care workers a chance to share their ideas, concerns and priorities about helping to fix the system. Brandon is the fourth of seven stops.

“It’s away from the media and it’s away from management also, so you can speak freely,” said Kinew.

The New Democrats promised during last year’s election campaign to open clinics, hire more health-care workers and reduce wait times.

Other health promises that may be fulfilled in the budget include free prescription birth control and more hours of direct care for seniors in personal care homes.

— Brandon Sun, with files from The Canadian Press