With other rural ERs closed, people drive to Virden, Man., pushing staff to their limit: nurse

During a nurse's night shift in Virden, Man., multiple ambulances arrive carrying people who need mental health, cardiac and trauma treatment, but she feels the hospital is understaffed to care for the number of patients they're taking in. 

"There's a lot of fear to come to work, and that's never been the case," the nurse, who CBC has agreed not to identify due to concerns she has over repercussions for speaking out. "It's heavy, heavy care."

She said a combination of part-time closures and the suspension of emergency services in some other southwest Manitoba towns due to staffing shortages has left people from other communities no choice but to go to Virden, and it's pushing staff in that town to the limit.

The nurse also said wait times for the emergency room in the city of Brandon, Man., have recently prompted people to make the approximately 75 kilometre drive west to Virden, a community of just over 3,100 people, so they can be treated faster.

And just last month in Melita, Man. — a town of just over 1,000 people about 70 kilometres south of Virden — ER services were suspended after a long-time physician providing primary and ER care retired, according to Mayor Bill Holden.

Holden said two nurse practitioners in Melita and a doctor from a neighbouring community are working to maintain primary care services.

But with no full-time physician, people who need ER care have to get an ambulance or drive to a larger centre.

"People are very upset, I can tell you that," Holden said. "When you start taking health care out of the community …people are going to go to Brandon, they're going to go to Souris, Virden."

In an emailed statement, Prairie Mountain Health acknowledged a doctor's retirement "after many, many years of dedicated service to the community," and said it's working with the community of Melita to develop a primary care service plan that will serve the needs of the community.

People drive to Virden: nurse

The nurse said Virden has been seeing an influx of patients from Melita amid service interruptions.

"Even if a facility is open part of the time, in an emergency situation a loved one might not look online to see where's open so then they'll come to a place that they always know is open, which oftentimes is Virden," the worker said.

"Our facility sees a lot of that. Patients drive long distances to get here."

A recent emergency department schedule, posted online by the health region for the week of Oct. 2-Oct. 8, shows ER services in Hamiota were unavailable after 8 a.m. on Oct. 3.

Souris's ER was open 24 hours a day for the week with the exception of Oct. 4, when it closed after 8 a.m., and Oct. 5, when it didn't open until 8 a.m.

Those weekly schedules, which can vary, are posted for the next month and are subject to change without notice.

A spokesperson for Prairie Mountain Health said it closely monitors emergency department volumes for sites that are nearby locations experiencing "service interruptions and will provide additional resources as needed."

They said based on statistics between April and August of the 2023-24 fiscal year, Virden's emergency department is averaging the same number of visits as the same five-month period in 2022-23.

The nurse said Virden hospital relies heavily on agency nurses and mandating overtime to make sure the hospital can provide 24-hour ER coverage.

"Because of the added pressures to Virden now, we might see up to seven ambulances in one night," the nurse said.

That's leading to burnout, she said, and concerns over quality of care.

"There's a balance when you have loyalty to your community and wanting to keep a place open and wanting to keep your community members safe, so you do it, but we also have a licensing body that we need to report to so if something critical happens on our shift, there's huge fear that it's going to come back on you," she said.

Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, told host Faith Fundal on CBC Radio's Up To Speed Wednesday, said it will hold the incoming NDP government accountable on its promises to improve health care.

"We're living through a health-care system where nurses have workloads they've never seen before, who feel that they're not providing the care that they should be to their patients," Jackson said. 

"This government has pledged to collaborate with nurses, has pledged to ensure that front-line nurses are at the table. It doesn't really matter who's in the seat of government, you must carry through on your promises."

Health-care workers to have greater say: Kinew

Workers keeping the health-care system running right now through "heroic efforts are our number one priority," premier-designate Wab Kinew told Marcy Markusa on CBC Radio's Information Radio on Thursday.

Kinew acknowledged it will be a challenge with other provinces also facing health-care staffing challenges.  

"We do have to get in the game because all the other provinces are competing and they will poach talent from Manitoba if we don't have a competitive offer, if we don't address the issues ... like mandatory overtime and burnout."

Improving the culture in health care will be a major focus, Kinew said.

"To simplify the bureaucracy and to start re-investing some decision-making power in those experts who are working at the front lines. In addition to the pay and the working conditions, I think we need to send them a message that we value your expertise, we're going to listen to you and you're going to have a significant say in how our health-care system goes forward."    

The nurse in Virden understands the problem can't be fixed immediately, but she's hoping for some short-term relief, including incentives to work in rural areas.

"We're losing nurses to early retirement, we're losing nurses to agency, we're losing nurses across the border. Both borders," she said. "That needs to be addressed."