When the emergency sign at Concordia Hospital goes down next summer, a new walk-in connected care clinic will go up.
Just last month, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority announced the closure of the hospital’s ER will happen in June 2019.
On Wednesday, Health minister Kelvin Goertzen announced that at least part of the vacated space will house a new walk-in connected care clinic that will treat non-life threatening injuries.
The Concordia clinic will be similar to a quick care clinic in that it will provide an alternative to urgent or emergency care for health concerns in the area.
The new clinic will also have physicians on site and be opened twelve hours a day: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
It’s a transition the province said should only take a couple weeks after the emergency department is shut in June — and one they believe is just the latest step in making the northeast Winnipeg healthcare centre more effective.
“If you really want to move the needle in transforming a health care system, the action is at the primary care level,” Goertzen said.
The minister said the switch is an example of the province moving towards a revolutionized Concordia, voicing his confidence that it will make the hospital even more useful to health care after its ER doors are shut.
“I think the future of Concordia is now more important,” Goertzen said. “It will continue to be a vital part of the health care system in Winnipeg.”
According to the province, the changes are all slated to begin next summer, but the timeline could be affected by other health care steps, including renovations at St. Boniface Hospital.
Goertzen said more announcements regarding the leftover ER space are coming soon.
Quick care clinics were originally created by the NDP government and staffed by nurse practitioners. They were typically open seven days a week, but usually no later than 7 p.m.
Last fall, the Progressive Conservatives closed all of the clinics except one.
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