WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) is closing four QuickCare clinics in a bid to save money.
In a release the WRHA said services of QuickCare Clinics on Vermillion Rd, Portage Ave. Jefferson Ave., and Dakota St. will be “redirected” to other options in the area.
The closures take effect in January 2018.
The remaining clinic on McGregor St. will remain open.
The announcement follows the closure of the QuickCare clinic on St. Mary’s Road in January.
Winnipeg’s QuickCare clinics saw more than 51,000 visitors in 2016. The numbers provided by the WRHA include visits at all six clinics prior.
Last year the busiest QuickCare clinic was the McGregor Street location, which will remain open. The second busiest was the one on St. Mary’s Road which was closed in January.
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QuickCare clinics were first introduced by the NDP in part to reduce long wait times in Winnipeg emergency rooms.
The WHRA said in its release it’s committed to saving $83 million as part of a provincial mandate to reduce costs and changes announced today will “keep the WRHA on track”.
“The WRHA has identified a number of savings opportunities that focus on ensuring high quality patient care in a way that optimizes our financial and human resources,” Réal
Cloutier, interim president and chief executive officer of the WRHA said in a news release.
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To accommodate patients Access Centres will extend their clinic hours.
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It was not clear in the release what impact this could have on jobs, although officials also noted a review by KPMG found staffing levels in Winnipeg were ‘higher than other Canadian jurisdictions.”
The Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Michelle Gawronsky called the changes risky.
“Reducing staffing levels, closing quick care clinics and jacking up fees hurts families and doesn’t improve patient care,” Gawronsky said. “Implementing so many changes in health care, all at once, is risky and confusing to both patients and staff.”
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