Seven Oaks, Concordia ERs won’t close simultaneously: Health Minister Goertzen

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2017 (2465 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen has accepted a task force’s recommendation that the province should not close the emergency rooms at Seven Oaks and Concordia hospitals at the same time.

But when the two Winnipeg ERs close, and in what order, are among a list of major health care decisions that could take 24 months to make, Goertzen told a news conference Thursday.

Manitoba Health’s wait times reduction task force tabled an overdue report Wednesday that called for the two ERs to be closed at separate times, instead of together after improvements are made to the emergency at the Grace Hospital. The technical term is ‘decoupling’.

“We agreed to decoupling,” Goertzen told reporters. He also expects the government of Premier Brian Pallister will make decisions on potential closing of rural ERs by next summer.

Throughout the process, which began this fall with the closing of the Victoria General Hospital ER and urgent care clinic at Misericordia Health Centre, Goertzen has always asked the professionals if everything is ready for the next step, he said. If it’s not, he waits.

“I don’t think anything changes from my perspective. I’ll continue to ask,” he said. “We’ll continue to watch it as we move forward.

“I’ll continue to ask them, ‘Do you feel we’re ready?'”

When the Grace improvements are finished and in operation “we’ll see what impact that has, as we move through the system,” he said.

The health minister wasn’t ready to agree with the task force that St. Boniface ER needs more resources if it is not to be overworked by the Seven Oaks and Concordia closings, though he’ll keep a close eye on St. B. The province has already expanded the St. Boniface ER by 25 per cent, he said. “We’re confident the Grace will significantly change the flow of patients in the system.

“The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is doing that assessment of which one they think should transition first,” Goertzen said. “For me, as minister, when does it make sense? It’ll be driven by whether it’s the right decision at the right time.”

Goertzen did say there should be long-term redevelopment at St. B, the planning for which should start sooner rather than later.

He said the WRHA expects the Grace will be ready by March, but has told him it could be 24 months before the two ERs are both closed.

That would push the final ER closure to within months of the 2020 provincial election.

As for rural ERs, it’s not a matter of wait times, it’s a matter of having an ER and of having that ER open when needed, he said.

“It’s an emotional issue for people. In rural Manitoba, it’s an access issue — when you go, is it going to be open?”

The task force recommended the province integrate the 10 largest rural emergency departments with urgent care centres, primary care and emergency medical services. When looking at which emergency departments should remain, the report notes the government should evaluate those delivering round-the-clock, consistent care, and whether there is another emergency department within 60 minutes’ drive.

“They’ll be able to report back to me in the spring,” after which his department will analyze the data and make recommendations to him, he said.

The task force had recommended that no more MRIs be built at this time.

“We are going to move forward with the Dauphin MRI,” said Goertzen. He also said the province has not received a licence application for a proposed MRI in Niverville, which the minister noted would be essentially a private MRI.

Goertzen said he chose to avoid Wednesday’s task force report announcement, staying away to give experts the opportunity to speak to their expertise.

He did the same when Dr. James Peachey presented his study that led to the ‘generational’ overhaul of the Winnipeg hospital system, and he’ll do the same in March when his addictions task force reports, Goertzen said.

NDP health critic Andrew Swan argued Thursday the task force report reinforces people’s opposition to closing the ERs.

“Patients and families have been calling on Pallister to rethink his decision to close down emergency rooms without a clear plan on how to move forward. This wait times report backs them up,” Swan said.

“Certainly, I’ve heard how important they are to so many Manitobans on our health care listening tour. We hope that the government will take the time to listen, and reconsider how closing emergency rooms in Winnipeg and in rural communities will hurt those who count on them to be there when a crisis hits,” Swan said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca