Manitoba’s health minister announced renovations to a hospital in the northwestern Interlake on Friday.
Audrey Gordon said Lakeshore General Hospital, in Ashern, will be undergoing a significant renovation, as well as an expansion of its services, with construction expected to begin late this year or early next.
The $10.8 million in improvements is expected to allow patients requiring some specialized services to stay close to home for care, rather than travelling more than two hours to Winnipeg.
“Ensuring Manitobans have reliable access to health services locally for themselves and their loved ones is an important priority for our government,” Gordon said.
“Today’s investment will expand Lakeshore General Hospital’s emergency department and enhance services in Ashern while improving access to some specialized services for Interlake residents, reducing the need for travel to Winnipeg to receive care,” Gordon said Friday.
“While the sickest Manitobans will continue to receive care in our most specialized health-care facilities, investments in health-care facilities across Manitoba will ensure local access to the most commonly required health services as well as more reliable access to more specialized services within rural and northern health regions.”
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The upgraded emergency department is expected to include an increase of up to a dozen inpatient beds, as well as additional treatment space.
There will also be a planning process to improve access, quality and equity of care at the hospital and other healthcare facilities in the region, said Marion Ellis, interim CEO of the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority.
“This investment will bolster access to services at Lakeshore General Hospital as the first hospital that residents and visitors from northern Manitoba encounter when travelling south along Highway 6 and will further complement existing health services for residents of Ashern and surrounding communities,” Ellis said.
“As part of this work, local communities will be engaged as planning for the redevelopment of Ashern hospital continues over the coming months.”
NDP Leader Wab Kinew says this plan won’t work without the staff.
“Their own government documents show that in the last five months the PCs spent over $666,000 on private agency nurses at Ashern hospital instead of hiring permanent nursing staff to serve the community,” Kinew said in a statement.
“Without a plan to hire nurses to provide care at the bedside, this announcement just means hospital beds that sit empty with no one to staff them.”
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