Health care remains underfunded by the PCs
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This article was published 18/05/2022 (377 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
I have been hearing from constituents about the importance of investing in our health-care system to ensure that Manitobans are able to get the care they deserve, close to home. As your MLA, I have been focused on the priorities of folks in the Maples. Unfortunately, Budget 2022 has shown us that the Progressive Conservative government has not learned from their mistakes as they continue to underfund health care.
Premier Stefanson’s budget continues Brian Pallister’s legacy of underfunding health care far below the rate of inflation. This has a real impact on people in the Maples. It means cuts to our hospitals, ERs, and frontline workers. The budget also maintains the freeze on operating funding to communities, making it harder to recover from the pandemic.
Manitoba is a growing province with growing needs. We know that Manitoba needs investments in health care to ensure every person can get quality care in a timely manner. We want to see our concerns around emergency response times addressed. Our team recently found that, in January, there were 588 instances in which an ambulance was not immediately available to respond to a call for service. There were a combined 28 hours that month during which no ambulance could immediately respond.
Unfortunately, the recent provincial budget leaves funding flat for emergency medical services. That’s not going to address the unacceptable growth in response times in Winnipeg and across the province.
In addition, in March, nearly 14 per cent of all patients left Winnipeg emergency rooms and urgent care centres without receiving care. That’s really concerning. Far too often Manitobans are choosing to leave emergency rooms and urgent care because the wait is simply too long.
Over the last few months we have been hearing more and more about hospitals running far too short. We recently found that the situation at Grace emergency department has gotten worse. Normally 10 or 11 nurses staff the department on day shifts. For one recent rotation, only two to four nurses were scheduled at night, far fewer than the normal schedule.
Nurses are stretched too thin. This is affecting their ability to provide timely care. The PC government is making the wrong choices for families in the Maples. We have a plan to address these concerns, and I am committed to making investments for the priorities of families, including healthcare.
If you would like to contact me about the recent budget, concerns about healthcare or any other concern, you can contact my constituency office at 103-1730 Leila Ave. by calling 204-417-3486 or emailing mintu.sandhu@yourmanitoba.ca
Mintu Sandhu
The Maples constituency report
Mintu Sandhu is the NDP MLA for The Maples.