Nearly half of all violent incidents against physicians in Manitoba occur at HSC, survey reveals Doctors Manitoba releases ‘extremely concerning’ results By: Nicole Buffie Posted: 5:41 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025 Last Modified: 7:32 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025 Updates

Doctors who work at Health Sciences Centre are subjected to nearly half of all the assaults perpetrated against physicians in the province.

An annual survey conducted by Doctors Manitoba sought feedback from physicians, students and residents who work and study on the HSC campus. Nearly 30 per cent of physicians reported experiencing an average of 11 “physical safety incidents” in the previous year.

“What we heard over the last few weeks has been extremely concerning and reflects the apparent increase in incidents occurring in and around the hospital,” the report, obtained by the Free Press, stated.

The average of 11 incidents experienced by doctors is nearly double the provincial average of 6.2.

More than four in 10 of all physical safety incidents reported to the physician-advocacy organization over the past 12 months occurred at or near HSC, the survey said.

“Survey respondents reported a total of 1,961 ‘physical safety incidents,’ with 44 per cent of them from HSC. By comparison, St. Boniface Hospital, the next largest health facility in Manitoba, accounted for 10 per cent of all reported incidents.

Doctors Manitoba said the HSC medical district — physicians who work at the medical facilities or the medical school — accounts for about 25 per cent of MDs in Manitoba.

‘Punched, kicked, and spat on’

Staff and students in and around HSC and the University of Manitoba Bannatyne medical sciences campus reported being ​“punched, kicked, and spat on,” or ​“approached, chased, and even assaulted,” and ​“subjected to racist and hateful comments and being verbally abused on an hourly basis.”

The survey noted the data was collected before an apparent increase in incidents at HSC earlier this summer.

The news comes on the heels of a 94 per cent vote by Manitoba Nurses Union members working at HSC to “grey list” the hospital, a declaration that the workplace is unsafe and nurses should consider turning down shifts as a result.

The vote took place after a string of violent incidents, including the sexual assaults of four women and a teenage girl on or around HSC on July 2.

The province’s largest hospital will remain grey listed until the union and Shared Health can negotiate an agreement to address safety concerns, the union’s president said.

Darlene Jackson said the Doctors Manitoba survey is validating for the nurses who have express similar concerns.

“That is exactly how nurses feel — that it is not a safe space, and that that employer is not keeping it safe,” she said.

“That is exactly how nurses feel – that it is not a safe space, and that that employer is not keeping it safe.”–Union president Darlene Jackson

A medical student, who spoke with the Free Press on the condition of anonymity, said they fear for their safety while on rotation at HSC.

The student said colleagues have resorted to sleeping on couches and cots in staff rooms to avoid walking outside and through the hospital’s tunnels to their call rooms — space reserved for rest during extended shifts.

The student’s call room is a two-minute walk outdoors or five minutes through the tunnels, which is far too long to be alone, they said.

“There have been sexual assaults both outside of HSC and in the tunnels. The tunnels are not a safe place.”

“(Safe walk) is going to take probably more than a couple minutes, and sometimes a couple minutes is already too long, especially when you have patients’ lives at stake.”–Anonymous student

The student reached out to the U of M, which noted the safe walk program and personal alarm devices provided by the hospital, but the student said those options are not considerate of the urgent nature of the job.

“(Safe walk) is going to take probably more than a couple minutes, and sometimes a couple minutes is already too long, especially when you have patients’ lives at stake,” the student said.

A Shared Health spokesperson said safety is “top of mind” and it has implemented several improvements to the site over time, including additional lights, cameras, stationed security, rapid roll up doors, staff entry cards, AI weapons scanners and reducing the number of unsecured public entrances.

When discussions of a potential grey-list arose, a joint committee of health, university, city, community and justice officials was set up to address concerns about HSC, the spokesperson said.

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Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the group meets regularly to discuss safety issues and how to address them in the short- and long-term.

Asagwara said after the July assaults Manitoba Justice assessed the campus to “evaluate the opportunities to improve safety and security.”

“And to make sure we’re doing it through a culturally appropriate and community-minded lens,” the minister said. “We do not want to see people who are already marginalized or experience barriers now feeling as though they are being stigmatized (at the hospital). That increases people’s anxieties and discomfort and doesn’t contribute to anybody feeling safe.”

Ensuring safety measures avoid ​“enforcement-first” approaches and are co-designed with community groups to avoid creating harmful barriers was among a list of eight recommendations Doctors Manitoba shared with HSC, Shared Health and university leadership.

Mama Bear Clan and SABE Peace Walkers are among the community organizations Asagwara said could help establish culturally sensitive practices.

The student said they appreciate all that is being done to improve safety, but time is of the essence.

“With the next generation of doctors and current doctors who are going to be looking for attending jobs … our biggest hospital in the city doesn’t feel safe, so that’s not good for residents looking for attending positions.”

Shared Health scheduled a series of drop-in meetings planned this week to hear from physicians and staff about their safety concerns.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.