The Manitoba government is adding 36 new acute care beds at St. Boniface Hospital as part of a broader plan to reduce wait times in emergency departments and stabilize health-care capacity across Manitoba, Premier Wab Kinew and Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced in a media release on January 10th.
“Job number one for our government is to fix the staffing shortages – that means every investment we make to increase capacity in health care is done with staffing in mind,” said Kinew. “We’re adding more beds to help reduce wait times in the emergency room and we’ll work with health-care professionals every step of the way. After years of cuts and chaos, patients are waiting longer than ever for care but our government has a plan that’s focused on helping patients get seen more quickly and stay healthy.”
St. Boniface Hospital will open the new staffed medicine beds starting in late March as a way to help transition emergency department patients into other areas of care.
“After seven years of health-care cuts, Manitobans are waiting longer than ever for care in crowded in emergency rooms,” said Asagwara. “Our government has moved quickly to add more capacity to our hospitals so patients can get the care they need, faster. We’re focused on smart investments driven by what we’ve heard from front-line staff to add beds throughout the system so that we can relieve pressure in emergency rooms.”
“Working in the emergency department at St. Boniface Hospital, our staff, nurses and physicians know that the inability to move previously seen and admitted patients into the hospital is the number one reason wait times for emergency patients are unacceptably long,” said Dr. Paul Ratana, emergency department medical director, St. Boniface Hospital, and provincial specialty lead for emergency medicine. “More inpatient capacity is a vital part of any effort to reduce waiting room times because it immediately frees up emergency department beds so that we can see and treat more incoming patients sooner.”
“At St. Boniface Hospital we are all about compassionate patient care, so we are very supportive of initiatives that prioritize our patients and enhance the patient experience,” said Nicole Aminot, president and CEO, St. Boniface Hospital.
The expansion at St. Boniface Hospital is part of a wider plan to add new acute care beds and staffing at major hospitals in the province. In November 2023, the minister announced Grace Hospital will receive 31 new beds by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year including 10 as part of a new family medicine program being established there. The Manitoba government will continue to roll out more investments targeted at stabilizing overstretched hospitals, noted the minister.
