Doctors Manitoba advises rural Manitobans to plan ahead over holidays, as some ERs closing, changing hours By: Chris Kitching Posted: 6:01 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025

Rural Manitobans should check their local hospital’s emergency room schedule for the December holidays, with only a quarter of ERs outside Winnipeg expected to be open 24-7, a Doctors Manitoba analysis found.

The organization said patients in Winnipeg could face longer waits at Grace Hospital’s ER and all three urgent-care centres (Concordia, Seven Oaks and Victoria hospitals) due to staff vacancies.

“For anyone who is planning on travelling or gathering with loved ones around the holidays, it’s a good idea to take a few minutes to plan ahead,” said Doctors Manitoba president, Dr. Nichelle Desilets, who practises in Neepawa.

“It’s hard to know when you or someone may need medical care, but it’s pretty easy to check out what your local resources are.”

The organization said 18 of Manitoba’s 71 rural and northern ERs are expected to be reliably open 24-7, while 25 are expected to have limited hours or periodic closures and 28 are fully closed (considered suspended or a long-term closure).

The figures are similar to last year. Desilets said Killarney’s ER had 24-7 coverage last season. This year, the ER will be shut for 24 hours from 8 a.m. on Christmas Day, and it will close at 8 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, an online schedule showed.

Some limited-hour ERs, including Pinawa’s, are open more hours this month compared with last year, Desilets said.

She said physician coverage at Grace’s ER and Winnipeg’s urgent cares is stretched due to vacancies, which means they may be down to a single doctor for extended periods. Patients could face longer wait times.

A Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spokesperson said staffing is planned in advance, and no ERs or urgent-care centres in Winnipeg are at risk of closures.

“Staffing pressures are real, but safe coverage is in place across all Winnipeg (ERs) and urgent-care centres,” they said.

“The issue always comes down to a shortage of staff, and that might be doctors, that might be nurses, that might be other allied health professionals.”

Vacation leave or sick days can result in reduced ER hours or temporary closures in smaller communities, Desilets said.

“The issue always comes down to a shortage of staff, and that might be doctors, that might be nurses, that might be other allied health professionals,” she said.

Doctors Manitoba, which represents more than 4,000 physicians and medical learners, recommended people check their local health authority’s website for ER schedules. The organization has a website, RuralCare.ca, that puts the links, guidance and other information in one place.

People in Winnipeg should visit the WRHA’s ER and urgent-care wait time website before considering alternatives, such as a family doctor or walk-in clinic, Doctors Manitoba said.

Regional health authorities said people should continue call 911 in an emergency.

In western Manitoba, Roblin’s short-staffed ER is scheduled to close from Dec. 23-26 and Dec. 30-31, with limited hours when open.

“We’re disappointed. Sadly, it’s getting to the point where it’s not shocking anymore because more than three-quarters of the time, we don’t have emergency service,” said Municipality of Roblin Mayor Robert Misko.

He doesn’t fault staff who take time off over the holidays to rest and spend time with loved ones.

Two physicians recently joined, but two more are needed, he said, noting the hospital had only one doctor at this time last year.

When Roblin’s ER is closed, the nearest alternatives are about 30 minutes away in Russell (which is scheduled to be open 24-7) and Grandview, where an ER will be closed Dec. 27-28 and open limited hours other days.

Jodi Ruta, 39, visited Beausejour hospital’s ER Sunday while experiencing intense pain that later eased.

She was admitted to Selkirk’s ER after undergoing a CT scan Monday, and then directed to Beausejour’s ER because she would be seen sooner. The travel distance meant she arrived after the latter ER closed at 6 p.m.

“A doctor stayed for me so that I could be seen that day and I could be put on antibiotics sooner,” said Ruta, who praised the physician’s care and commitment. “Those are the people that we need to be rewarding in this system because those are the people, if we can keep them here, who will make huge changes in the industry.”

She said an Ontario man who arrived while she was there had to be transferred by ambulance to an ER that was open.

Northern Health said no ER closures are anticipated between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3. Interlake-Eastern, Prairie Mountain and Southern regions said this season’s schedule changes are consistent with those last year.

The four regions said temporary ER closures are considered only as a last resort when there isn’t enough staff to ensure safe care for patients.

All four said they make “every effort” to cover shifts and provide safe and appropriate care to patients.

Doctors Manitoba said a recent study underscores the need to focus on improving retention efforts. While Manitoba had a record-breaking net increase of 164 physicians last year, it loses more doctors to other provinces than it gains and appears to be retaining fewer local graduates, the organization said.

Desilets said the vast majority of new recruits work in family medicine and are probably based in larger communities.

“Colleagues of mine out in rural areas might not feel the difference of those recruits in their own clinics and ERs,” she said.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the NDP government is taking steps to recruit and retain health-care staff, and it will take time to see the full benefits of those measures.

Asagwara pointed to a restored rural physician retention and recruitment fund, a new nursing float pool and efforts to expand team-based care as examples.

“We’re going to keep working really hard to continue to add more capacity so we not only continue to stabilize, but that we can see more improvements in terms of hours of operation and renewal of service,” the minister said.

Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook said the rural ER situation is troubling and speaks to a “lack of focus” on retention by the government.

“For communities who have had 24-7 ER services, to now have that be made unavailable it’s going to be very distressing for them,” said Cook, the MLA for Roblin. “I would say things are moving in the wrong direction under the NDP.”

Cook said potential measures such as expanding team-based care to rural hospitals, where staff have voiced concerns about the isolation or pressure of working alone, should be prioritized.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca