The MLA for Swan River says he saw first hand the crisis that in unraveling at the Swan Valley Health Centre due to nurse staffing shortages.
Rick Wowchuk says he spent 8 -1/2 hours in the Emergency department of the hospital last week before he was able to see a doctor.
Both the Provincial Tory caucus and the Manitoba Nurses Union have been sounding the alarm bells ever since the province announced a plan to reduce the number of nursing agencies that they deal with to fill vacancies from around 80 to just 4.
Wowchuk says the plan is ill-conceived and poorly timed.
"And we see this time and time again from this government, and then they have to back-step and come up with another plan that does not work. It is trial and error, and every time that happens, we are putting a lot of patients at risk These drastic changes should have been phased out over a much longer period of time to allow the hospitals and health districts time to react and change."
January 15th was when the reduction took effect, but Wowchuk says he has heard that the government is looking at an extension to February 1st.
Even then, he says it is still not enough time.
"I look at Swan River and they did not fill any vacancies in two years. So how can they do it in two yweeks is what I am saying to resolve this situation?"
When asked about the change in deadline date, Cabinet communications provided the following comment from the Health Minister.
She said the direction to move forward with the transition remains unchanged, with patient safety at the centre of every decision we are making. As this work continues, regions are being supported to manage patient safety in real time. That includes al lowing regions with unique challenges the flexibility to temporarily work with agencies, as needed, to ensure safe and reliable care.
