
Nurses union bemoans lack of health-care progress in Manitoba, rally planned
Despite a change in provincial government almost two years ago, the Manitoba Nurses Union says its members are still encountering the same broken health-care system shift after shift and that they are feeling disappointed and frustrated with the lack of progress.
President Darlene Jackson told 680 CJOB's The Start that wait times are up and workplace violence is increasing, turning many nurses away from the profession.
'There's probably not a shift in the last year that there hasn't been violence in some facility, or probably all facilities, some type of violence … and that is massive.
'Nurses are leaving because of it. I had one nurse that said to me, 'I loved my job at the Health Sciences Centre, but I'm not putting my life at risk to go to work.''
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Jackson said promises made by the NDP government have, so far, seemed empty, and nurses are growing more frustrated as morale continues to deteriorate.
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'We are still seeing nurses working short with the incredibly heavy workloads — mandated overtime and tons of voluntary overtime is still a thing,' she said.
'Our wait times are rising eyery year. They rose again this year. Nurses are frustrated because we truly hoped that we would see some big differences in health care based on the promises and we're just not seeing that.'
Jackson, who has been a nurse since 1981, told The Start the state of health care in the province is now worse than it was in the 1990s when nurses went on strike.
While the MNU says it would give the province's current health care situation a D-minus grade, a spokesperson for Doctors Manitoba said that organization has a slightly more positive view.
'Looking at the evidence we have on health care, and considering there was a pandemic and years of disruption and underfunding, Doctors Manitoba would grade the progress of the last 18 months as a B-minus — improvement still needed, but on the right track,' they said in a statement.
The spokesperson said Manitobans still have reasons to have concerns about the system — with 'unreasonably long' wait times and hospitals experiencing service closures, plus burnout among doctors. Improvement has been seen, however, as far as recruitment to turn around the doctor shortage and wait-time improvements in certain areas.
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'There's still a lot that as to get better, but it's safe to say Manitoba is on the right track when it comes to improving health care,' the statement said.
Global News has reached out the premier and health minister for comment.

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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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PAT MCGRATH / FREE PRESS FILES Since March, Manitoba optometrists have been refusing to handle all non-routine eye care cases out of frustration with the provincial government, which hasn't signed a deal with them in years. 'Patients are who the system is intended to serve and they are the most vulnerable,' said Winnipegger Mike Ellery, who learned about the labour dispute. The optometry services contract expired on March 31, 2019, during the third year of the Pallister government. Ellery admits he was confused when, back in May, his optometrist sent him to the Misericordia Eye Clinic for an issue when he had been treated for the same condition by that specialist a few years earlier. Ellery said there were so many patients waiting when he went in to the clinic one morning that, after he was not seen by the afternoon, he had to leave. He returned the next day and was treated. He said he wasn't the only one who left without being seen by an optometrist. 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Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.


Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Grant to help U of M researchers study HIV care
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