Kinew vows to speed up 12-month timeline to revive Dauphin hospital

Premier Wab Kinew said he was told Dauphin’s hospital may not be able to reopen for a year after floodwater got into the basement and damaged the building, including its HVAC system.

He called that “unacceptable.”

“We are going to throw a ton of resources and time and energy towards accelerating that as much as possible,” he told reporters at a briefing at the Manitoba legislature Friday.

The Dauphin Regional Health Centre sustained significant damage as a result of recent intense flooding in the Parkland region following massive rainfall. The medical hub was evacuated on Canada Day and its emergency department was closed after the site lost power and the use of its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system.

“I was told (Thursday) that it’s going to be a nine- to 12-month repair process to get the hospital back online, and my immediate reply was ‘that’s not good enough. That’s not acceptable,” Kinew said.

He toured the hospital last week when there was still close to metre of water in the basement.

Surgeries and endoscopy procedures, as well as X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI and lab appointments, were cancelled. Alternative arrangements were being made for cancer, dialysis and maternity patients.

A mobile medical clinic and a temporary triage clinic were set up to provide some services or assessments to patients. Visitors with serious needs that cannot be treated in Dauphin are directed to the nearest appropriate hospital.

“I was told (Thursday) that it’s going to be a nine- to 12-month repair process to get the hospital back online, and my immediate reply was ‘that’s not good enough. That’s not acceptable.”

The hospital closure has forced organizers to cancel a popular summer festival in Dauphin. Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival, scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 2, cannot go ahead because of the lack of health-care services.

The premier praised the efforts of staff who are doing their best to manage the crisis.

“I can’t say enough good things about the doctors, nurses, the staff, the health workforce in Dauphin for everything that they’re doing,” Kinew said.

“I saw front-line health-care staff working in completely dark rooms with headlamps on, looking at patient records and test results and stuff like that. So that shows you how hard (they) are working,” the premier said.

Getting lab and X-ray services up and running is a priority, the premier said. The province is giving health system managers “licence” to consider standards in order to restore them.

“If you’re rebuilding to a specific standard, let’s talk about is that a provincial standard, federal standard — is that a standard from a regulated health professional college?” Kinew said.

“Is there a way that we can deliver the same quality and safety but get the service back more quickly? Are there things on the supply chain side that we can do?”

Doctors at the Dauphin hospital also want to help restore services for patients as soon as possible, Doctors Manitoba said Friday.

They don’t feel they have been properly consulted by administrators from the Prairie Mountain Health region about how to plan and maintain interim services while the hospital is repaired.

“I saw front-line health-care staff working in completely dark rooms with headlamps on, looking at patient records and test results.”

“We’ve met with doctors over the last week, including a town hall (Thursday) night, and the message has been clear: physicians are concerned about their patients and want to help safely reopen services in Dauphin as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson for Doctors Manitoba said in an email.

“We hope to see the health system consult physicians directly in the recovery planning. In the meantime, we are analyzing physician concerns and ideas we have collected to submit to health system leaders to inform their contingency planning.”

The health region spokesman was not available Friday.

Meanwhile, the board of the Ukrainian festival said the annual event could not proceed without a hospital in the vicinity.

“Emergency health-care services have been relocated to rural communities more than 30 minutes away, creating significant challenges in providing timely medical care for our large event,” the board said in a social media post.

The festival board consulted with officials from the City of Dauphin, the Rural Municipality of Dauphin, the area’s MLA and MP and its insurance provider in making the decision, “with great disappointment.”

All passes purchased for this year’s event can be used for next year. Refunds will also be issued. Information about the refund process will be posted on the event’s website and social media in the coming days, the post said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca