More ambulances, meth drive up wait times in Winnipeg emergency rooms: health authority

A record number of ambulances arriving at Winnipeg hospitals, as well as more patients on meth and people experiencing acute issues have pushed up wait times in emergency rooms, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said Thursday.

The health authority posted numbers showing the average wait time in February was two hours and nine minutes, about 25 minutes longer than in December.

"There is no question I would have wanted to see better wait times for February, but I also need to be realistic," said chief health operations officer Krista Williams.

More ambulances are arriving from both within the city and rural areas, said Williams. Last month on average, 168.5 ambulances arrived every day at emergency departments, up about five per day from the month before.

Williams also partly attributed the increased wait times to the ongoing overhaul of the province's health system.

"We are making the biggest changes in our system and there have been many variables that have impacted us in February. It is disappointing, but I think we have to look at all of the factors that have impacted it."

The number of people presenting with signs of meth use at emergency departments and urgent care centres has gone up steadily over the last year. In February, there was an average of 9.1 patients per day with signs of meth, compared to 5.7 per day in the same month in 2018.

The Manitoba NDP issued a statement blaming Premier Brian Pallister and the health care changes, including closing of emergency rooms and consolidation of services.

"Pallister's plan for our health care system is clearly failing. Yet another month of skyrocketing wait times -- and a significant increase since he began to close ERs and cut services," said NDP health critic Bernadette Smith.

"It's time the Premier admit his rushed plan to close Concordia and Seven Oaks isn't working," she said.

The WRHA's Williams praised hospital staff for their performance under challenging circumstances.

"The staff have worked very hard in our emergency departments and urgent care to give the best care they can and manage the increase and volumes and sick patients. And I have to commend them on the work they are doing," she said.

The wait times are still better than a few years ago—before the health care system began consolidation in 2016 and 2017, Williams said.