Hallway medicine returns during third wave

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This article was published 04/05/2021 (756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

All Manitobans want quality, timely healthcare for their families when they need it most. But because of the Progressive Conservative government’s health-care cuts, families in Fort Rouge are waiting longer for care and receiving less attention at the bedside.

The PCs emergency room closures caused longer wait times and additional stress before the pandemic and now that we’re in the third wave we’re seeing a comeback that no one wants – hallway medicine is returning to Winnipeg.  

Earlier this month, we learned that there are 1,300 fewer nurses working in Winnipeg hospitals. The job vacancy rate is 17 per cent across the city and as high as 22 per cent in the St. Boniface ER, the closest emergency room for many Fort Rouge families. These numbers mean families are receiving less care and waiting longer for it.

We’re sounding the alarm by sharing stories like the one earlier this month of a 93-year-old woman who spent five days in a local ER hallway. Seniors and families deserve better care and we’re going to keep calling out the government for its reckless choices, which are hurting our communities. 

In the last year I’ve heard from many Fort Rouge nurses and health-care workers about the cracks in our health-care system – cracks that COVID has only made worse.

Throughout the pandemic the dedicated healthcare workers who live in our constituency have been pushed to a breaking point, putting their lives at risk to care for our loved ones.

We’ve heard the challenges of those who work in facilities such as Riverview Health Centre. The PCs’ understaffing means less time for nurses to give patients the care they deserve. This means more risk to patients, more stress for family members, and a weaker health-care system overall.

The NDP caucus stands beside nurses and health-care professionals who are calling on the PCs to make immediate investments in our health-care system to save lives in the third wave.

If you have concerns about health care or a story you’d like to share, please contact my office anytime at 204-615-1922 or email me at wab.kinew@yourmanitoba.ca

Wab Kinew
Fort Rouge constituency report

Wab Kinew is the NDP MLA for Fort Rouge and leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party.

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