Growing concerns for access to rural Manitoba emergency rooms

An accident with a chainsaw while in Arborg had Kevin Barylski headed to the emergency department in hopes of getting stitches. However, his plans quickly changed when he was told there was no one available to administer care.

“To go to a hospital and be told they don’t administer stitches is like going to a restaurant with no cook,” says Barylsk.

He made the 35-minute drive to the neighbouring town of Gimli, where his six-centimetre laceration was held together with eight stitches. While his wound heals, his frustrations remain present.

“For something as simple as getting stitches, and you can’t even do that at a hospital, that is beyond…. I’m at a loss for words.”

Barylski’s incident isn’t isolated. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, there were 2,719 days of unplanned service suspensions at Manitoba facilities. However, Shared Health says that’s a 704-day improvement year over year.

Manitoba NDP health critic and Union Station MLA Uzoma Asagwara says this will have repercussions.

“As a result of that, we’re going to see more people leaving their community, we’re going to see people have really preventable, devastating outcomes because they weren’t able to get timely health care close to home,” says Asagwara.

“It’s not just about people being able to access an emergency room today or stay in a personal care home in their communities tomorrow, we’re talking about investing now for the future,” Asagwara says.

Barlyski says he knows his situation is small compared with what could be catastrophic for others.

“For me, all it was was a couple stitches. What happens if it was a snowmobiling accident or a farming accident, or a hunting accident, where seconds are vital and they count?” says Barylski.

“This is where my parents are from, and you’re not having proper health care when you have this happening.”

In a statement to Global News, Shared Health says, “There are also a number of facilities whose emergency departments are on long-term suspension (some dating back decades) and others that experience intermittent unplanned suspensions due to temporary staff or physician shortages, equipment repairs and other factors.”

When asked for a comment, Health Minister Audrey Gordon deferred to Shared Health.

“Maybe we do need to look at privatized health care where some people who want to go get it, can, because obviously the way that this system is working, it isn’t,” Barylski says.

The Manitoba government has earmarked $812 million in investments this year towards a clinical and preventive services plan. It aims at developing a network of hubs throughout the province that are staffed and equipped to provide more reliable access to services closer to home.