The Manitoba NDP’s victory in Tuesday night’s election could mean good news for those concerned with the state of the province’s health-care system, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
Premier-designate Wab Kinew and his party campaigned on improving health care and bringing back three emergency rooms that were converted into urgent care centres under the Progressive Conservatives.
Dr. Michael Boroditsky, president of Doctors Manitoba, said while he’s not expecting quick fixes, he’s eager to sit down with the new government to discuss how to make the changes.
“They are not easy. An ER is not the same depending on where you are, and what available resources you have,” Boroditsky told 680 CJOB’s The Start.
“How they want to see these ERs open up and what they look like, we are anxious to have that discussion.”
Boroditsky said a major factor in accomplishing the NDP’s goals is acquiring more doctors, nurses, and other staff, which could take years if they’re being trained locally.
“At minimum, you’re looking at 10 years from them starting university — seven once they’ve done their first undergraduate year, so you’re doing four more years of medicine, three more years of residency.
“So locally training, we are improving that, I hope, and this government will hopefully continue with that as they have expressed.”
Boroditsky said, overall, he was happy to see health care being discussed by all parties during the campaign.
Kinew spoke to the media Wednesday morning, and touched on the importance of the health promises to his party’s majority victory. He said the important work of staffing the health-care system would begin within the first 100 days of his premiership.
“It’s a message that we campaigned on, and I think the results of the election last night show that Manitobans want us to focus on health care,” the premier-designate said Wednesday.