Rural Manitobans may see longer wait times or more emergency room closures over the holidays.
“If you think that you need healthcare, we are there for you. Just be patient with us, as we might be running short staffed and dealing with other emergencies,” said Dr. Nichelle Desilets.
Desilets, who practices in Neepawa, is president of healthcare advocacy group Doctors Manitoba.
It’s typical to see reduced healthcare hours and service ability during this time of the year, Desilets said. This may be because staff are taking vacation or because of illness.
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“Physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers are humans, and we get the flu as well,” she said.
There isn’t much redundancy in rural Manitoban healthcare, so it often takes just one sick call to destabilize a small hospital.
According to Doctors Manitoba’s analysis, some regional emergency rooms are open more hours compared to last December. That includes some eastern areas like Gimli, Pine Falls and Pinawa. These emergency rooms may still be operating on limited hours, but less so than other regions of the province.
In the west, Killarney’s emergency room is not open 24 hours like it would usually be, Desilets said. It’s operating on limited hours.
Desilets advised people to plan ahead if travelling into a new area where they’re unfamiliar with the healthcare resources — for example, looking up the nearest ER and its schedule and the second-nearest emergency room, or finding alternatives like walk-in clinics or minor injury clinics.
On the road, or if experiencing an emergency at home, people should call 911, Desilets added. However, some areas of the province have an alternative emergency number — another thing to research if travelling.
Schedules for all health regions are posted on Doctors Manitoba’s Ruralcare.ca page.
She noted people can expect longer wait times at emergency rooms.
