Manitoba's Doctors are speaking out.  Support their call for action!

Manitoba has reached a critical point.  We’ve watched the COVID-19 pandemic spiral out of control. Our test positivity rate has passed 10%. The number of cases per capita is among the worst in the country. COVID-19 outbreaks at Parkview Place and Maples Personal Care Home have claimed dozens of lives. We are fighting to keep case levels within intensive care unit (ICU) capacity—with some ICUs already surpassing capacity. Staffing cuts have left our nursing, medical, lab, and hospital staff chronically over-extended and exhausted.

Long before COVID-19 arrived in Manitoba, frontline healthcare workers have been sounding the alarm about our system’s lack of ability to handle surges in demand. Pallister’s Conservative government has implemented dangerous and devastating cuts to Manitoba’s health care over the past four years. The current government has shuttered half of Winnipeg’s emergency rooms and cut 20% of Manitoba’s ICU beds. They have reduced the number of nurses by 550 since 2017 and repealed universal health care for international students. Last year, the government privatized the air ambulance service that transports critically ill patients from outside of Winnipeg, including remote northern communities. These mass cuts have proven disastrous for both patients and hospital staff, even before the pandemic.

Last week, Health Minister Cameron Friesen accused 200 doctors and scientists of wanting to cause chaos by signing an open letter expressing alarm at the state of our healthcare system. Their only motive is to provide quality patient care in a properly functioning healthcare system.  We can avoid a system where medical professionals must choose which patients get life-saving treatment. Minister Friesen has continually stated that his office has things under control. But in spite of months to prepare, we still see stories daily about PPE shortages and extreme understaffing in hospitals. If there are appropriate plans in place, why are they being kept secret from medical professionals and the public?

• WE DEMAND that Public Health receives the needed emergency allocation of financial resources for contact tracing, public education, and other critical personnel needs. Redeployment is not enough: they must be able to hire new staff. We are hearing countless stories about delayed follow-up and communication failures, and they are hampering the rest of our efforts, as well as the public’s ability to protect themselves.
• WE DEMAND the immediate allocation of the $2.5 million earmarked for enforcement to pay for staff to work at the COVID-19 command centre and testing sites. These emergency financial resources must be allocated towards increasing our testing capacity and turnaround. Results must be available in a clinically meaningful time interval. Rapid testing needs to be available in confirmed or suspected outbreak settings.
• WE DEMAND more transparency and accountability. The government must share the structure and status of Incident Command and expand its membership to include more physician voices and ensure there is Indigenous participation at the highest levels of decision-making, to ensure Indigenous communities needs are met.
• WE DEMAND more consultation with community groups who work with structurally disadvantaged populations. This will improve access to testing, offer supports for those who are staying at home when ill or awaiting test results, and aid community organizations in providing the most up-to-date and pertinent information to all Manitobans.
• WE DEMAND an unwavering commitment to protecting marginalized community members and addressing the crisis in our personal care homes. Shared Health or other applicable RHAs should swiftly take over control of any home that is not clearly controlling an outbreak.
• WE DEMAND an expansion of the proposed public health measures, including reviewing the clause allowing religious services, as well as gyms, to continue; with a commitment to transparent discussions and additional expert review.
• WE DEMAND increased financial support to Manitobans whose incomes will drop due to public health measures. The Manitoba government must implement an immediate rent freeze and halt evictions for the duration of the pandemic.
• WE DEMAND the immediate allocation of the $85.4 million dollars the federal government gave to the province to ensure schools would open safely in September. It must immediately be given to school divisions in order to implement measures and improve infrastructure to ensure the safety of all staff, students and the citizens of Manitoba.
• WE DEMAND that you listen to the experts and those on the front lines to adopt and implement all 27 recommendations from Doctors Manitoba released November 10th. These recommendations were a follow up to a 1000 doctors attending a town hall held by your government to review the current plans for Manitoba.