‘Absolute chaos’: distraught nurses say WRHA’s home-care scheduling overhaul a disaster for them, patients

Burned out and overwhelmed, Winnipeg home-care nurses say a recent scheduling system overhaul has led to chaos, leaving vulnerable clients without care and front-line staff desperate for help.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority centralized its home-care scheduling system late last month, moving operations to one office at 80 Sutherland Ave. But nurses say the rollout was rushed and disorganized, disrupting care delivery and pushing staff to the brink.

“I’ve been working in home care for 25 years, and I’ve never experienced this kind of confusion or chaos,” said one, who agreed to speak to the Free Press on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution from the WRHA. “They weren’t prepared to roll it out.”

Nurses say insulin-dependent clients have gone without doses for hours, unable to eat until someone finally arrives. Others report overlapping assignments or being pulled into unfamiliar areas due to staffing shortages, which have caused further cancellations and delays elsewhere.

One nurse said a client went five days without a visit. Another described finding a client’s toe had turned blue after six days without being tended to — an issue that went unreported because new staff didn’t realize it was abnormal.

“They’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” the nurse said. “They’re trying to make it more streamlined. They feel it will improve things. Maybe at one point it will. But there wasn’t enough education.”

Before the change, scheduling was done across more than a dozen locations by three separate entities. Nurses worked closely with dedicated scheduling clerks, forming teams familiar with client needs and geography.

Staff say that structure is gone, replaced by an impersonal, inefficient system that’s created a litany of problems.

“The attempt is always to keep that continuity of care, it’s best for clients to have the same workers,” said a case co-ordinator, who asked not to be named. “They get to know them. They can recognize changes and report back to the community co-ordinator if things are looking different, health-wise.”

The WRHA said the change was necessary, citing communication breakdowns, service inconsistencies and increased workloads under the previous model.

In a Jan. 23 memo introducing the changes, the authority explained the move was also prompted by a review following the 2023 death of Katherine Ellis — a cancer patient who died after being misclassified and denied timely home care.

Among the review’s 21 recommendations was the creation of a centralized, around-the-clock scheduling office to streamline what was seen as an inefficient system.

“Previously, scheduling was provided by three different entities Monday to Friday, which led to gaps in communication, variations in service delivery to clients, an increased work demand and other issues,” a WRHA spokesperson said.

“Home care is essential in supporting patient discharges from hospital. With a 24/7 scheduling model in place, hospital discharges can take place in a timely manner and requests for increased home care services can be filled more responsively.”

But Manitoba Nurses Union said the result has been “absolute chaos.”

MNU president Darlene Jackson said the union urged the health authority to pilot the model before a full rollout. That didn’t happen, she said, adding some staff have already quit in frustration.

Jackson said many office staff members are new and do not understand the nuances of scheduling nurses for visits.

“It’s created a huge amount of disruption,” she said.

Jackson, who said she’s fielded calls from nurses in tears, said that in one case a nurse was given 10 insulin appointments in a row, but travel time was a part of the scheduling, leading to frustration from clients who weren’t notified about the delays and had to wait hours to eat.

“They’re burned out,” Jackson said, adding the new changes have robbed nurses of breaks and time to eat during their shifts.

A letter from an anonymous whistleblower was sent to Premier Wab Kinew, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and opposition health critic Kathleen Cook last weekend, alleging that one-third of the program’s clerks had walked off the job during the rollout.

Cook (Roblin) raised the issue in the legislature, but Asagwara denied anyone had quit.

Nurses and other home care staff say that isn’t the case.

“Basically, it’s been a f—-ing s—t-show,” said another nurse, adding that a scheduling clerk they knew quit from the stress after more than a decade in the position.

“I don’t want to go to work. I hate my job right now. And I loved going to work. Work was a break for me from home.”

Multiple sources told the Free Press that staff departures are widespread, with one whistleblower estimating that about 20 scheduler positions currently sit vacant.

The WRHA careers site currently lists 13 openings for home-care scheduling clerks, the majority of which are permanent positions.

A Reddit post from a user claiming to work in home care apologized to patients and families, calling the rollout “truly horrendous” and “entirely preventable.”

“There are so many who want you to know that there are people behind the scenes hurting because we know how bad things are right now and disgusted to know that this was entirely preventable,” the post said.

The author of the post said they reached out to the Free Press after working a seven-day stretch and “feeling completely hopeless at how the days went.”

“We were shut down, our questions about procedures and communication pathways were ignored and we were told to keep positive and trust that their plan would make everyone’s lives easier,” the scheduling clerk said when they tried to bring attention to some of the issues.

In another letter shared by MNU, the son of an 82-year-old client described repeated no-shows and inconsistent care times.

“The result? Real impacts on my father’s well-being, safety, and dignity,” the email said.

“To the WRHA and decision-makers: You must do better. Lives are at stake. What is happening is not just a scheduling issue — it’s a failure in leadership. And it’s hurting the most vulnerable among us. Fix it. Please.”

Late Friday, Asagwara’s office responded to a request for comment with a statement attributed to the health minister.

“Home care is so important, and the folks who keep our system running smoothly are a critical part of our system,” the statement said. “It’s my expectation the WRHA (will) keep working with the front line staff to ensure the office is well staffed and excellent home care is delivered on time without disruptions.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca