Overcapacity HSC emergency department forced to declare ‘surge’ Nurse reports worst shifts in 10-plus years at hospital; young adults moved to Children’s Hospital ER By: Carol Sanders Posted: 6:59 PM CDT Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 Last Modified: 7:52 AM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 Updates

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Health Sciences Centre declared a “surge” of patients at its adult emergency department last week that nurses say was operating at 200 per cent capacity.

The declaration prompted some young adults to be moved to the ER at Children’s Hospital.

“We’re not officially into flu season yet,” said Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson.

“Hopefully, this isn’t a precursor to what that season is going to look like. Nurses are saying the whole week was horrible.”

“Hopefully this isn’t a precursor to what that season is going to look like. Nurses are saying the whole week was horrible.”

Shared Health, the provincial health agency that runs HSC, issued a prepared statement acknowledging “the concern and anxiety” the situation can cause for patients and family members.

A surge is declared when the highest-acuity beds used for the most critically ill patients are filled.

It can happen “unpredictably as the number and condition of patients changes throughout the day,” said a statement issued by Shared Health, which operates HSC, the province’s largest hospital.

Declaring an internal surge allows care teams to adjust staffing, create more space and ensure patients requiring urgent care continue to receive it safely.

Shared Health said that three young adult patients were seen in the HSC Children’s emergency department.

“Our emergency departments and care teams work diligently to manage patient flow and minimize wait times, even during times of high demand,” the statement said.

Nurses reported that at one point the adult HSC emergency room — which has 56 treatment spaces and six resuscitation beds — had 120 “active” patients and was running at 200 per cent capacity, Jackson said.

Active patients are those who’ve already been triaged, are under assessment and are waiting or receiving treatment or are on stretchers.

“I actually talked to a nurse this morning who said that last week was probably five of the worst shifts that she’s ever worked in that department, and she’s been there for 10 years.”

The MNU posted that nurses were caring for stroke patients in hallways.

“I actually talked to a nurse this morning who said that last week was probably five of the worst shifts that she’s ever worked in that department, and she’s been there for 10 years,” Jackson said.

Shared Health noted that the 120 patients the MNU referred to were at various stages of care.

“It’s important to understand these numbers and not sensationalize them so that people who need to seek emergency care do not hesitate in doing so,” the agency said.

Premier Wab Kinew said at midday Monday that the median wait time in the HSC adult emergency department was down to an estimated two hours and 20 minutes, and fewer than 50 patients were waiting.

“We check the numbers each and every day,” he said. “What I’m giving you is up to the minute and it’s pretty consistent with what we’ve been seeing. Those are relatively good numbers but the job’s not done until everyone gets the health care that they need when they need it.”

Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook said the premier’s words offer little reassurance.

“I would take the word of front-line nurses over the word of the premier when it comes to what the situation is like in our emergency rooms,” said Cook (Roblin).

“It’s important to understand these numbers and not sensationalize them so that people who need to seek emergency care do not hesitate in doing so.”

“We know that median wait times across the city are higher than they were two years ago.”

Cook said she’s concerned that the problem has been made worse under the NDP government, which has not been able to solve the problem of “bed block” that would allow patients to be released to personal-care facilities or their own homes with care plans in place.

“The NDP came into power on a promise to fix health care,” she said. “That was their words. In the two years since, by many metrics, health care has gotten objectively worse. “

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca