The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has opened new mental health beds at Health Sciences Centre following recent fatalities involving people on meth leaving hospitals on their own.
Six new beds are now available at HSC, reserved for patients presenting with drug psychosis.
The province said it is to help address the growing number of patients showing up in emergency rooms high on methamphetamine.
“These beds will reduce the length of time that patients with behavioural responses will remain in the emergency department and ensure they are provided with appropriate care in a safer, more therapeutic environment,” the WRHA said in a statement to Global News.
READ MORE: WRHA investigating after woman found dead after leaving Seven Oaks hospital
In December, 29-year-old Windy Sinclair’s body was found frozen outside on Furby Street days after she left Seven Oaks hospital while high on drugs.
Sinclair, a pregnant mother of four, was hallucinating on Christmas Day, according to her mother Eleanor Sinclair.
She said her daughter had struggled with a methamphetamine addiction. They called 911 and paramedics, concerned about a possible overdose, brought her to Seven Oaks General Hospital.
But within hours, she disappeared from the hospital. Her body was found three days later.
“Ensuring the safety of both patients and staff is imperative to an effective emergency program and to quality patient care,” the WRHA said. “All WRHA staff receive general training to assist them in responding to situations of risk or potential violence and we continue to work with the sites to monitor the situation closely.”
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