Healthcare shortages are everywhere in Manitoba and all across Canada, but St. Anthony’s Emergency Department has been hit hard with over a 50 percent vacancy rate in their nursing staff. This led to a social media post put forward by the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) on behalf of the nurses working at St. Anthony’s, who are asking for help.
The post reads, “The public needs to know what is happening in St. Anthony’s Emergency Department in The Pas. We are not ok! We have a 56 percent vacancy rate with two additional nurses off injured.
“We are working with nurses who are redeployed from the medical ward and are partially ER trained, with some not trained at all to work in ER, meaning they have none of the mandatory courses to work here. Agency nurses are coming to help, but some of them have no ER qualifications, or limited ER qualifications. We need help, but shouldn’t be expected to train and mentor while working short under additional stress.