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Winnipeg Free Press
27-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
April data offers glimmer of hope on ER, urgent-care wait times
Opinion The provincial government is hoping new hospital emergency room data is the beginning of a trend towards shorter wait times. But it's still to soon to tell whether the recent improvement is just a one-month statistical blip. According to the most recent wait time data from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (set to be officially released Thursday but obtained by the Free Press), the overall wait time at emergency rooms and urgent-care centres in Winnipeg fell 15 per cent in April compared with the previous month. It was also down eight per cent compared with the same month in 2024. It's not quite cause for celebration, since there have been similar one-month drops over the past year-and-a-half. But it is a promising sign. The median wait time in Winnipeg for all ERs and urgent-care centres in April was 3.32 hours. That's down from 3.92 hours in March and a slight improvement from 3.6 hours in April 2024. The median wait time is the point at which half of patients wait longer and half are seen by a doctor or nurse practitioner sooner. In other words, many patients wait longer than the posted median wait time. The good news, though, is even some of the longest wait times are showing improvement. The so-called 90th percentile wait time — where nine out of 10 patients have shorter wait times and one in 10 wait longer — fell significantly last month. It was 8.75 hours in April compared with 11.13 hours in March. The 90th percentile wait time in April 2024 was 9.70 hours. But will it last? Median wait times at ERs and urgent-care centres peaked at four hours in December 2023, a little over a month after the NDP was sworn into office. There were improvements in 2024, but wait times began to grow again late last year and rose to 3.97 hours in February of this year. What is encouraging, though, is every hospital in Winnipeg showed improvement in ER and urgent-care wait times in April, including at St. Boniface Hospital, where wait times fell to 3.95 hours from 5.55 hours. Grace Hospital saw its median ER wait time fall in April to 5.07 hours from 6.78 hours in March. Related Articles Bold action required on cardiac care crisis Nurse fights to be heard after medical emergency kicks off 72-hour hospital odyssey Team of front-line workers to tackle hospital wait times Directive to better inform cardiac patients awaiting surgery 'great start' but not enough, family who lost mother says Heart patients to receive written timeline for surgery, minister announces Long road to recovery: ER, urgent care wait times return to disastrous levels Two months after cardiologist recommended heart surgery within days, Manitoba senior continues to wait Promised mobile MRI will travel between Thompson, The Pas: health minister Health minister, Tory critic square off over heart surgery waits, Debbie's Law Budget's health-care cash must be targeted to combat wait times Both of those hospitals have had some of the longest wait times in the city in recent years. And while there have been some recent improvements, hospital congestion at those facilities — which backs up into ERs and causes long wait times — is still at crisis levels. The 90th percentile wait at Grace in April, for example, was 10.30 hours, meaning 10 per cent of patients waited longer. It's an improvement over the previous month and is slightly better than it was in April 2024. But it's still historically high and means many patients are getting substandard care. Long ER wait times are caused mostly by patients who are admitted to hospital but have to wait — sometimes days — for a bed on a medical ward. When those patients pile up in ER hallways, doctors and nurses have less time to see newly arriving patients, which exacerbates the problem. The province is hoping that additional hospital staff added to medical wards over the past 18 months is beginning to bear fruit. There have also been other changes made to hospitals that could be contributing to the recent drop in ER wait times. For example, hospitals are now able to discharge patients on weekends, something they didn't have the staff to do before. That frees up hospital beds sooner and takes pressure of ERs and urgent-care centres. Even if the recent improvements hold, ER wait times in Winnipeg are still far higher than they were seven to 10 years ago when they hovered around two hours (often dipping below the two-hour mark). Wednesdays A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future. Even if the recent improvements hold, ER wait times in Winnipeg are still far higher than they were seven to 10 years ago when they hovered around two hours (often dipping below the two-hour mark). They rose dramatically from 2021 to 2023, roughly doubling in length. That was part of the fallout from the previous Progressive Conservative government's move to consolidate hospital operations in Winnipeg, including closing some ERs and converting three of them to urgent-care centres. One of the NDP's key campaign promises in 2023 was to 'fix' health care, including bringing down ER and other hospital wait times. So far, they haven't been able to do so in a sustainable way. But the recent data could be a sign that things are improving. We won't know for at least a few more months whether it's a longer term trend or just another blip on the radar screen. Tom BrodbeckColumnist Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom. Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press's editing team reviews Tom's columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
27-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bold action required on cardiac care crisis
Opinion In the heart of Canada, Manitoba is facing a quiet but deadly crisis. While the province boasts medical professionals of high calibre, the infrastructure they work in is failing too many of us — especially those with cardiac conditions. A system that should offer life-saving diagnostics and treatment is instead burdened by long wait lists, fragmented care, and a troubling inequity in access to critical tests and procedures. The consequences are not abstract. Far too many Manitobans are dying while waiting for cardiac surgery and many are not getting diagnosed early enough. According to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority data, 19 people died while on the wait list for cardiac surgery from 2018 to 2024. Also, because there is no centralized cardiac care program in Manitoba, many are getting bounced around between doctors, hospitals and other medical facilities and are not getting timely treatment. Bill Worthington is one of those patients. The 73-year-old was transported to hospital by ambulance on Feb. 22 when he experienced symptoms of heart failure. Since then, he has seen doctors and nurse practitioners at various hospitals and medical clinics, but has still not received the surgery he requires. That is unacceptable. In Manitoba, patients with heart conditions often navigate a fractured system, bouncing between general practitioners, regional clinics and overstretched urban hospitals. In an era where co-ordination and specialization are known to save lives, Manitoba's decentralized approach to cardiac care seems dangerously antiquated. The absence of a co-ordinated cardiac centre means there is no streamlined pathway for patients with suspected heart failure or coronary artery disease. A central hub would allow for faster triage, integrated diagnostics and more efficient use of specialist resources. Instead, the current model leads to duplication of effort, regional disparities and deadly delays. Perhaps nowhere is this dysfunction more evident than in the access to essential diagnostic tools like blood tests for heart failure and echocardiograms. These tests are fundamental — not optional — in diagnosing and managing cardiac conditions. Yet they are not widely available across the province. Cardiac surgeons, cardiologists and nurses have been sounding the alarm bell for years over this. They are overburdened, and they are burning out. No amount of professional dedication can overcome the structural deficits in the current system. And yet, the response from policymakers has been tepid — ranging from vague promises of improvement to delayed investments that don't address the core issues of access and co-ordination. What Manitoba needs now is not another task force or another report to gather dust on a shelf. The province needs bold, decisive action. Wednesdays A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future. First, establish a centralized cardiac care hub in Winnipeg, capable of co-ordinating referrals, diagnostics and surgical interventions. Such a centre should be empowered to set provincial standards for cardiac care and to ensure that rural and remote communities are not left behind. Second, ensure equitable access to diagnostic testing. This means increasing funding for lab and imaging services, training more technologists, and deploying mobile diagnostic units to reach underserved areas. Third, address surgical wait lists with the urgency they deserve. This requires increasing operating room capacity, hiring more surgical teams, and establishing targets for wait times that reflect clinical need, not just administrative convenience. Premier Wab Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara have an opportunity to turn this crisis around. They can choose to lead with vision and urgency, or they can continue to preside over a system where Manitobans die waiting for care that should have been within reach. Manitoba's heart is failing — not just in the medical sense, but in the moral one. Let this be the moment we decide to repair it.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
944 needles in 16 parks over 10 days
City staff tasked with removing dangerous debris from downtown parks collected 944 needles from the sites in a little over a week. Two staff also picked up 239 pipes, 28 bags with drugs or traces of drugs and three full needle-disposal kits from 16 parks between April 22 and May 1, said Jim Berezowsky, the city's public works director, during Tuesday's executive policy committee meeting. He noted the new project, which will run until October and aims to clean up 'high risk' parks, is welcome by the public. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES 944 discarded needles were collected by city staff in just over a week. 'Our staff that are coming across people in the park areas, they're very understanding and appreciative of the work that our staff are doing,' said Berezowsky. Since the program just recently began, it's not clear how many needles will be found in later months of the year, long after winter buildup is removed. While council approved $60,000 for the seasonal work, the public works director noted the project would require more funding to extend into the winter. Berezowsky noted neighbourhood groups, Siloam Mission and others also do some needle cleanups. Mayor Scott Gillingham said the numbers highlight just one side-effect of the drug crisis. 'We've got a huge drug problem in our city and that drug problem is not just manifesting itself in abandoned needles in playgrounds and parks… The scourge of drugs and drug addiction in our community is having consequences that are multi-faceted,' said Gillingham, noting the connection to violence and general littering. When asked if the city should spend more money to run the park program all year, the mayor said he'd first like to reach out to agencies and the provincial government to seek help to address the problem. In January, the city asked the provincial government and/or the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to 'take responsibility for the collection of disposed needles within the City of Winnipeg that were distributed by them or their partners and consider a needle exchange program.' The mayor said he'd still like that to take place. 'If there is any agency that is distributing needles… I think it's up to those agencies also to be part of the solution in getting those needles back, rather than having needles just go out, be used and end up in a park where children play… This is about the health and safety of the public,' said Gillingham. In a brief email Tuesday, a provincial spokesperson said the WRHA Street Connections program does pick up needles and provides drop boxes where people can safely discard them. The spokesperson said the province is 'actively considering' an incentive to return used needles. The head of a social agency that provides needles at a mobile overdose prevention site said the lack of additional supervised consumption space is part of the problem. 'In the absence of expanded supervised consumption services and the absence of proper harm-reduction programming in the city… we know that folks are going to be using in spaces… like parks and libraries and bathrooms because we don't have formalized services beyond what we offer at the mobile overdose prevention site,' said Levi Foy, executive director of Sunshine House. On the positive side, Foy said the large number of needles collected in just a few days could reflect that fewer users are sharing needles, which would reduce their risk of harm. He agreed that discarded needles pose a public health concern, stressing it's important to ensure users have an easy, stigma-free way to return the needles. People who use Sunshine's overdose prevention site can easily dispose of needles right after use, while its outreach workers provide sharps containers that can be returned when full, said Foy. Clients are not required to return a used needle to get a new one, he said. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Coun. Cindy Gilroy, who advocated for the park cleanups, said she believes the program is helping, although she'd like it to be expanded. 'I think that it's very clear when you're picking up (so many) needles… that it's needed. There are a few more parks that really need some diligent attention,' said Gilroy. The Daniel McIntyre councillor said she'd also like the work to continue in winter months, since downtown daycares have complained dangerous debris is a year-round concern. X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne PursagaReporter Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne. Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
03-05-2025
- CBC
Wife of motorcyclist killed in Highway 9 crash speaks out against impaired driving
Mica Orcullo-Supena set up about a dozen chairs in the living room of her North Kildonan home on Friday afternoon, arranging them in rows to face a makeshift altar with framed pictures of her husband and some of his favourite foods. The 28-year-old has held a prayer vigil at her home each night since last Saturday when her husband, 30-year-old Winston Supena, was killed in a crash as he rode his motorcycle just north of Winnipeg. The nine days of prayers are part of a Filipino cultural practice intended to help a person's soul immediately after their death, she said. The crash happened on Highway 9 and Mitchell Bay, in the rural municipality of St. Andrews, around 4 p.m. last Saturday, RCMP previously said. Supena's motorcycle collided with a three-ton truck as the truck was trying to turn westward down Mitchell Bay, police said. Mica says police told her that the 67-year-old man who drove the truck admitted to officers that he'd reversed the truck in front of Supena's motorcycle as he made the turn down Mitchell Bay, before Supena crashed into his vehicle. Supena was pronounced dead at the crash site, RCMP said. Hours before the fatal crash, Mica says she'd had brunch with her husband and their four-year-old daughter in Winnipeg, after he finished an early shift at his job as a health-care aide with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Supena left the restaurant early to meet up with his motorcycle buddies while his daughter finished eating, she says. "And that was the last time we saw him." 'My life shattered' Police said on Monday the truck driver's licence was suspended under The Highway Traffic Act. They believe alcohol was a factor in this collision, but no charges have been laid. RCMP say their investigation into the crash is ongoing. "We're devastated. We lost the one we love, for what? A bottle of alcohol?" Mica said. "That decision changed not only his [life], but all of our lives." Mica, who works as a massage therapist, said she was in a session with a family member when someone messaged her to call one of her husband's motorcycle buddies, who told her that Supena had been in an accident and was receiving CPR from paramedics. "I think, at that time, my life shattered," she said. 'My life shattered,' says widow of motorcyclist killed in Manitoba highway crash 2 hours ago Duration 1:51 The widow of a motorcyclist who died in a highway crash in St. Andrews is speaking out. Winston Supena, 30, was riding on Highway 9 last Saturday when he collided with a three-ton truck in the RM of St. Andrews. He was pronounced dead at the scene. RCMP say the truck driver had his licence suspended and believe alcohol is a factor. She called Supena's friend again shortly after, as she got stuck in traffic while rushing to the crash site from south Winnipeg, and had the friend ask paramedics whether a helicopter was coming to take her husband to the hospital. "A couple seconds later, you hear something in his voice, and his friend says … 'they're putting a white cloth on Winston,'" she said. "I'm not stupid. I know what a white cloth means." She never made it to the crash site, and went to her parents' home instead. "I just broke down. I think I cried the rest of the day," she said. "I still cry every day, because he's no longer coming home. My kids no longer have their dad." 'Using Winston's story as the lesson' The couple married less than two years ago, after spending a decade together, Mica said. She remembers him as an avid motorcycle enthusiast who would "help anybody in a heartbeat." "That's why he's a health-care aide. It's his passion to help people," she said. Their two young children — a seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter — understand that their father was in an accident with his motorcycle, but they're too young to understand that he's not coming home again. Mica wants her husband's death to serve as a reminder to drivers that they should keep an eye out for two-wheeled vehicles on the road. She says a vigil will be held at the crash site on Saturday, a day which comes during Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. She hopes both events will help people remember Supena's legacy, which she says was filled with kindness, warmth, and a love for motorcycles. "We're using Winston's story as the lesson, but he would have wanted to be able to make a difference, and this is how I'm going to help my husband do that, for his memory to live on," she said.
Winnipeg Free Press
02-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Team of front-line workers to tackle hospital wait times
The Manitoba government has released a new strategy aimed at lowering hospital emergency room wait times, with an initial goal of cutting key metrics by an hour. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said it's hoped the two metrics — for patients waiting to be seen in an ER and for patients who leave without being seen — begin to improve in six months to a year. 'We're looking at reducing those wait times by approximately an hour,' Asagwara said at a news conference at Health Sciences Centre Thursday. 'Ultimately, our goal is to meaningfully lower those wait times and sustain that over time. If metrics improve in four months, in eight months, and we see a reduction of two hours, great, but we need to sustain that.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The median 'waiting to be seen time' (from registration upon arrival to seeing a doctor or nurse practitioner) reached a high of four hours in December 2023 at Winnipeg's four emergency rooms and three urgent care centres, the government said. The median was 3.92 in March, as per the latest data from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. The 'left without being seen rate' measures patients who leave ERs before an assessment or treatment by a doctor or nurse practitioner. It is an indicator of ER performance, particularly excessively long wait times. At Winnipeg hospitals, between 14.2 and 17.3 per cent of patients left without being seen in the 12 months up to March, as per government data. Hiring more front-line staff is a key part of the plan to reduce wait times, Asagwara said. The NDP government said it has hired more than 1,600 net new health-care staff and added 240 fully staffed beds since being elected in October 2023. The strategy involves a new team, made up of doctors, nurses, other front-line staff and process engineers, that is tasked with reducing wait times. Asagwara vowed the team's work and structure will be different from ER wait time task forces or committees set up by past governments. Costs are included in the 2025-26 budget, they said. The group, already at work for a few months, is proposing changes system-wide, not just in ERs, to help improve the quality of care to Manitobans. Many involve expanding or using existing resources more efficiently. Access block is one of the main barriers to reducing wait times, Asagwara said. It happens when admitted ER patients cannot be transferred because staffed beds elsewhere in the health system are not available. The team is exploring ways to reduce access block at triage, which team co-chair Dr. Kendiss Olafson said would involve staff seeing to patients in the waiting room when an ER is overwhelmed. A new Manitoba 811 service, incorporating Health Links and virtual services, is designed to help nurses triage and redirect low-acuity patients away from ERs. Another initiative is the return of a virtual ward and an expansion of home-based care teams to allow certain patients to receive care in their home. There are plans to do more endoscopy procedures, and expand a program that provides intravenous therapy in patients' homes rather than at a hospital. Olafson said the team aims to expand services, add capacity and break down barriers, as well as not create more work for staff. Heidi Adamko, a process engineer and team member, recounted the challenges and long waits her mother faced while receiving care for cancer. Her mother, in the nine days before she died, spent two nights and one day in waiting rooms, and three days in emergency beds waiting for a bed elsewhere, before being moved to palliative care, Adamko said. PHIL HOSSACK / FREE PRESS FILES 'Her story isn't unique. Unfortunately, these waits have become the normal experience for Manitobans accessing acute care,' she said. Adamko said she's grateful to get an opportunity to improve care for others. 'At some point, each of us will find ourselves waiting for care. My hope is that no one waits as long as my mom did in the final week of their life,' she said. Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said the team is made up of people who want to make a difference. She hopes the government gives them the support they need, and properly funds the initiatives they propose. 'I know from experience that many, many times committees bring forward strategies and make recommendations that are never carried out,' Jackson said. 'To me, it's a colossal waste of time for these individuals if that's going to happen.' ER wait times in Manitoba, she said, have climbed for the fourth year in a row. Asagwara blamed ER current wait times on cuts and facility closures by the former Tory government. Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook said the 'blame game' isn't going to solve the problem. Wednesdays A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future. 'Accountability and action are going to solve the problem,' she said. Cook said she has a 'great deal' of respect for the team's members. A 12-page strategy document released Thursday was 'very thin,' she said. 'The NDP announced an ER wait time strategy in their throne speech back in the fall. It's been months since then,' Cook said. 'I'm, frankly, very surprised that this is all they've come up with in the time in between. I don't see this as an actionable strategy. I see it more as a political document.' She said the document should include targets, timelines and an analysis of the additional capacity that is needed throughout the system to lower wait times. Chris KitchingReporter Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris. Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
