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Winnipeg health authority says capacity an issue as 3 viruses spike at same time
ManitobaA spike in the number of patients visiting Winnipeg emergency room and urgent care centres since Boxing Day may get even worse before it gets better, warns the new chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.One patient transferred to Brandon because of the crunch for space in Winnipeg hospitals: WRHAIan Froese · CBC News…
A spike in the number of patients visiting Winnipeg emergency room and urgent care centres since Boxing Day may get even worse before it gets better, warns the new chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
One patient transferred to Brandon because of the crunch for space in Winnipeg hospitals: WRHA
Ian Froese · CBC News ·
A spike in the number of patients visiting Winnipeg emergency room and urgent care centres since Boxing Day may get even worse before it gets better, warns the new chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
CEO Vickie Kaminski issued the warning on Tuesday, saying occurrences of three different viruses all began peaking in Winnipeg at the same time, putting a strain on resources at the city's hospitals.
One patient was even transferred to Brandon because of the crunch for space in Winnipeg's health-care system.
In an internal WRHA memo sent to staff last week, chief nursing officer Krista Williams and outgoing president and CEO Réal Cloutier said there have been confirmed cases of influenza A, influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus at the same time.
“To have all three viruses surge at once is unusual. Most years, each virus starts and peaks at a different time,” the memo read.
The overcapacity issue may cause some elective surgeries to be postponed, the WRHA said Tuesday.
Kaminski said the health authority proactively prepares for patient spikes in the winter, but it couldn't have predicted rates of influenza A, influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus would all spike in the post-Boxing Day period.
The health authority said the average daily number of visits to emergency rooms and urgent care centres at Winnipeg's six hospitals was up in December compared to the same month a year earlier.
In December 2019, the hospitals saw an average of 915 visits to ERs/urgent care centres each day. In December 2018, that average was 882.
This month to date, daily visits are averaging 991, the health authority said Tuesday.
About the Author
Ian Froese is a reporter with CBC Manitoba. He has previously worked for newspapers in Brandon and Steinbach. Story idea? Email: ian.froese@cbc.ca.
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