Wait times in two Winnipeg ERs exceed 12 hours in post-Christmas patient crush

Manitoba nurses and doctors say they’re working hard this holiday and flu season to make sure they see hospital patients first who are triaged with the most acute health care issues.

Concerns about long ER waits were in the national spotlight after a 44-year-old man experiencing chest pains died in an Edmonton hospital emergency department last week. Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson offered some reassurance to Manitobans concerned about having a medical emergency.

“They should be confident that the staff that are working are going to do everything they can to triage them appropriately and get them seen as quickly as their condition calls for,” Jackson said Monday.

“I think they can take some comfort in that. As for the wait times, they are growing.”

Mid-morning Monday, hospital emergency room waits in Winnipeg were 10-plus hours at the Grace, 12-plus hours at St. Boniface and more than eight hours at Health Sciences Centre.

Physicians advocacy organization Doctors Manitoba issued a public notice prior to the festive season.

“The holiday period is traditionally a particularly challenging time for ER wait times, which is why we shared a public advisory before the holidays encouraging Manitobans to check wait times in Winnipeg and consider alternatives to the ER or urgent care if appropriate, such as calling your family doctor’s office, trying a local walk-in clinic option or calling Health Links,” spokesman Keir Johnson said in an email.

The organization representing 4,000 physicians and medical students in the province has been monitoring wait times posted online by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. All three ERs in Winnipeg have been experiencing lengthy waits, Johnson said.

Some patients waited more than 12 hours at the Grace Saturday and Sunday. At St. Boniface the 12 hour-plus wait times on the weekend continued Monday.

“Manitobans should be assured that physicians work very hard to ensure they see the patients first who were triaged with the most acute health care concerns.”

Long wait times in ERs are often a symptom of a health system that is at or over capacity, Johnson said. When there are no open hospital beds available for admission, patients are kept in the ER area, reducing treatment space for waiting patients, he said.

“Manitobans should be assured that physicians work very hard to ensure they see the patients first who were triaged with the most acute health care concerns. However, physicians are concerned that long wait times can impact access to care,” he said.

“We typically see the rate increase for patients who leave without being seen when wait times are longest.”

Jackson said it’s business as usual in hospitals.

“Unfortunately, the one thing Santa Claus does not bring is calm to a health-care facility,” she said.

“People still get sick — respiratory illnesses still happen — and they have to be seen. The wait times and the lack of beds and the lack of resources is as bad at Christmas. I don’t think this year is any worse, but it certainly is not any better.”

A staffing shortage at two Winnipeg intensive-care units prompted a “call out” last week for nurses, she said.

St. Boniface and Grace hospitals issued calls for nurses to pick up shifts, she said, adding there were discussions about moving nurses from one ICU to another in order to cover gaps.

Shared Health, the authority responsible for of HSC, said that while staff may be away at any given time for a variety of reasons, the facility has mitigation plans in place “to ensure staffing levels remain sufficient to safely provide appropriate care to all patients.”

“Additional measures are implemented as needed to maintain patient safety, including addressing critical care staffing requirements when they arise,” a spokesperson said in an email, adding there is typically an increase in ER visits after the holidays, which can contribute to longer waits.

“It’s important to emphasize that online wait times are estimates only and should never deter anyone experiencing a life-threatening emergency from coming to the emergency department or calling 911,” the spokesperson said.

Jackson said the nurse staffing shortage could be resolved if the province adopts the nurse-to-patient ratios for hospital units, which was the subject of an 18-month study by the MNU.

“If you know when you go to work that you’re going to be appropriately staffed, you’re going to have an appropriate patient load and you’re going to be able to leave at the end of your shift without being mandated (to work overtime), we are going to pull nurses back into the public health-care system,” she said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca