ManitobaThe union representing Manitoba’s nurses says the health-care system is stretched to its limit, with the emergency department at the province’s largest hospital hitting patient counts well over its usual capacity.Doctors saw patients in hallways amid surge, says Manitoba Nurses UnionArturo Chang · CBC News · Posted: Oct 27, 2025 7:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe Manitoba Nurses Union said in a social media post Monday morning the Health Sciences Centre’s emergency department was at double capacity for more than a week. (Fernand Detillieux/Radio-Canada )The union representing Manitoba’s nurses says the health-care system is stretched to its limit, with the emergency department at the province’s largest hospital hitting patient counts well over its usual capacity.The Manitoba Nurses Union said in a social media post Monday morning the Health Sciences Centre’s emergency department was at double capacity for more than a week, with up to 120 active patients at one point.”What’s happening at HSC’s emergency department is totally unacceptable,” the post read in part. “It’s not safe for patients, and it’s not fair to the nurses doing everything in their power to provide care in impossible conditions.”Union president Darlene Jackson said HSC nurses described the situation late last week as “absolutely chaotic.” Jackson said some adult patients had to be diverted to the children’s emergency department to deal with the overcapacity issues.”HSC has six resuscitation rooms. I know they were dealing with at least eight resuscitation patients, some of them in the hallways,” Jackson told CBC News in an interview Monday. “It’s a bit worrying when you are dealing with patients that ill in a hallway.”Darlene Jackson says nurses are already seeing cuts to staffing as health authorities try to save costs ordered by the government. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)Ronald Harper arrived at the hospital at 9 a.m. on Sunday, but he says it wasn’t until 3 p.m. before he got a room. He said between 30 and 40 people were with him in the waiting room.”I almost walked out,” he told CBC News outside the hospital Monday . “It was packed.”Shared Health said in a statement that a surge was declared Tuesday after the highest-acuity beds at the hospital’s emergency department were filled. Three young patients were seen at the children’s ER to help relieve some of the pressure, it said.”It is important to note that the 120 patients referenced in today’s post by the Manitoba Nurses Union included individuals at various stages of care,” the statement said.”It’s important to understand these numbers and not sensationalize them so that people who need to seek emergency care do not hesitate in doing so.”Province working on it: premierThe wait time at HSC’s adult emergency department was 10 hours as of 3:30 p.m. on Monday, according to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s website.Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Monday his NDP government works to improving emergency services every day.Premier Wab Kinew said median waits at HSC are good, but more work needs to be done. (Bryce Hoye/CBC)The premier told reporters at the legislature that the median wait time for priority patients at HSC was about two hours and 20 minutes. A provincial spokesperson later said that figure was obtained internally, and it reflects what wait times were like around noon on Monday.”Those are relatively good numbers,” Kinew said. “But [the] job’s not done until everyone gets the health care that they need when they need it.””Median” would mean half of HSC patients experienced shorter waits than the given number, but the other half waited longer.Jackson said that doesn’t reflect what the majority of HSC patients actually experience.Situation a ‘crisis’: PC criticRoblin MLA Kathleen Cook, health critic for the Progressive Conservatives, said she’ll take the word of frontline nurses over the premier’s, calling the situation a “crisis.””The major contributor to this is staffing, of course,” she told reporters after question period on Monday. “We still haven’t seen a credible staffing plan from this government.”Roblin MLA Kathleen Cook told reporters Monday the NDP government has presented no credible solution to health-care staffing. ( Bryce Hoye/CBC)Jackson called on the province to take staff retention seriously.”We’re still seeing heavy workloads and staff shortages,” she said. “I think it’s imperative this government really concentrates on retention of those nurses that are in the system, and what are they going to do to keep them there long enough to bolster our ranks.”With files from Gavin Axelrod and Bryce Hoye
Union decries ‘absolutely chaotic’ situation at Health Sciences Centre ER last week amid overcapacity woes
