Seven Oaks General Hospital’s Emergency Department will be converted to an Urgent Care Centre in two weeks, two months earlier than expected, according to a pair of memos sent to staff and trustees.
Brenda Badiuk, SOGH president and Rupinder Brar, SOGH Board Chair said the department will transition to an Urgent Care Centre on July 22.
It had originally been scheduled to transition in September.
“The decision to convert earlier than the original September date is based on clinical input from site leadership here, as well as both the WRHA and Shared Health,” they wrote in the memo to trustees. “It is also based on careful analysis of the staffing resources available within the emergency department for the remainder of the summer.
“This conversion, along with the completion of the labour adjustment changes, will help stabilize the demands on nursing staff at our site.”
The trustee memo states the centre will begin treating patients immediately when it’s converted.
“The transition to urgent care will occur at 7 a.m. on July 22. There will be no interruption in service to our patients. Walk-in patients will be accepted at the emergency department up to 7 a.m., at which time the urgent care centre will immediately begin treating patients.”
At the same time, ambulances will begin diverting emergency patients elsewhere.
“A public awareness campaign regarding the transition of Seven Oaks General Hospital’s emergency department will begin this week and continue until September,” said the WRHA in a statement sent to media.
“The campaign will be conducted in compliance with Manitoba’s Election Financing Act.”
Delay needed
A report released in June by private consultant Dr. David Peachey said morale and confidence in the system is declining among Winnipeg nurses.
He advised the conversion of the ER still happen at Seven Oaks, but said there should be a pause on other Phase 2 changes of the Pallister government health care overhaul.
“I personally would like to see the Seven Oaks changes delayed. I would like to see them put a pause on this entire transformation to stop and sort out the issues we have,” said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union, at the time.
However, Manitoba’s health minister Cameron Friesen, said in June the changes at Seven Oaks would proceed as planned.
“They said that we should go back and unwind everything. We won’t go back,” said Friesen,
Read the memo sent to the board of trustees:
Read the memo sent to SOGH staff:
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