Packed hallways, standing room only at Winnipeg ERs as wait times climb

Emergency department wait times have risen over the past six months, new numbers from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Shared Health show, leading to rescheduled elective surgeries and some patients leaving ERs without being treated.

Stacey Carriere is among those who eventually left. She was taken by ambulance to the St. Boniface Hospital ER on the morning of Jan. 10, after her six-year-old daughter found her unconscious in her home and called 911.

When she was brought in on a stretcher, "the hallways were packed," she said.

"I waited in the hallway … to me it seemed like forever, but it was probably about 45 minutes before I was even triaged by the paramedics.

"And then it was probably about another half an hour, and they gave me an EKG and then I sat there for about 16 hours" before leaving, she said.

Ten per cent of patients at the St. Boniface and Grace Hospital ERs waited more than 14 hours for care in November 2023, according to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

In June, that number — known as the 90th percentile wait time — was just over seven hours at the Grace and and just over eight at St. Boniface.  

At Health Sciences Centre, the number grew from 11.4 hours last July 2023 to 13.8 hours in November, according to Shared Health.

Dr. Joss Reimer, chief medical officer for the WRHA, said the waits are too long.

"Nobody should be waiting 14 hours to be seen in an emergency room. You're going there because you need urgent care," Reimer said.

"Right now I just want to see [those numbers] getting better. I want to know that we're improving numbers."

Reimer said the respiratory virus season is driving up hospital admissions. That, combined with staff shortages, is leading to longer waits in ERs, she said.

Staff are coming in on days off and working overtime, said Reimer. Care options beyond emergency rooms, such as walk-in Connected Care clinics and the Pan-Am Minor Injury Clinic are also being expanded, she said.

Lower-acuity patients in ERs are given information about other care options, a health authority spokesperson said, and there are staff in waiting rooms to monitor and reassess patients.