The Manitoba government says it’s on track to fulfill a lofty election promise.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon from Winnipeg’s Grace Hospital, premier Wab Kinew and health minister Uzoma Asagwara — alongside chief medical officer Dr. José François and registered nurse Tiana Wyryha — announced that Manitoba is more than halfway to its goal of hiring 1,000 new health-care workers.
“Manitobans told us clearly they want more nurses, doctors and health-care professionals working in our province,” Kinew said.
“We made an ambitious promise to add 1,000 net new people into our system and today we’re proud to say we’re more than halfway to that goal. Setting big goals like this is exactly what government is for. When we work together, we can get things done that aren’t possible on our own.”
Kinew said the province added 873 net new health workers between April 1- Aug. 31 — 116 of whom are physicians, with 304 nurses, 290 health care aides, and 87 allied health staff among them.
Asagwara said the additional staff will help to shorten wait times and provide the best care to Manitoba patients.
“We’ve left no stone unturned when it comes to adding more staff into the system and we’re going to keep going so we can start to turn the corner on some of the most important priorities in health care.
“To every person who decided to pursue a career in health care, or came back to the system, thank you.”