Province doubles health-care HR plan funding

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This article was published 28/07/2023 (1054 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Eight months after announcing its $200-million health-care human resources plan, the provincial government says it’s now on track to double that spending.

Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon made the announcement Thursday afternoon in Selkirk, saying the province is “significantly expanding” the blueprint unveiled in November to recruit and train an additional 2,000 workers.

Of the new funds, $2 million will be going to Assiniboine Community College so it can add 70 licensed practical nursing seats. Of those, 35 will be set up in Brandon and the other 35 in Winnipeg.

In a separate release sent out by ACC on Thursday, the college stated those seats would become available in January 2024 with applications opening “in the coming weeks and the college will release additional details about these intakes at that time.”

“We recognize that there continues to be a high demand for nurses and we are committed to doing everything we can to contribute helping more people into the profession in Manitoba,” ACC president Mark Frison said in the release.

“Today’s announcement allows us to offer more seats sooner.”

Prospective students interested in applying for the new seats are encouraged to email recruit@assiniboine.net to be informed when the process opens. More information can be found online at assiniboine.net/nursing.

A specific breakdown of the now-$400-million funding allocation hasn’t yet been released.

However, officials said part of the expansion involves setting up 11 new rapid response units staffed primarily by advanced care paramedics in rural and northern Manitoba, as well as 10 community paramedic units in those areas (based on a community model used in Winnipeg).

Thursday’s announcement is expected to result in at least 22 positions for advanced care paramedics working under Shared Health, said Rebecca Clifton, spokeswoman for the Paramedic Association of Manitoba.

She said the group has been pushing for recognition and stationing of advanced care paramedics in rural Manitoba for a decade.

“It’s long overdue, but it’s something we’re excited about,” Clifton said.

In a statement, Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals vice-president Tanya Burnside described Thursday’s announcement as a “step in the right direction.” The new plan includes 16 seats at Red River College Polytechnic’s advanced care paramedic program.

The investments were announced after the province reached new contracts with MAHCP, which included gains in wages and premiums.

“Hopefully, those increases will attract more paramedics,” Clifton said, saying the association estimates there’s still a deficit of roughly 150 paramedics in rural Manitoba.

The health minister’s news event included a promise to focus on staff wellness — by recruiting a chief wellness officer and providing “wellness bonuses” — and strengthen nursing and physician work forces by providing professional testing support to internationally educated nurses and practice-ready assessments to internationally educated physicians.

Meanwhile, the Manitoba Health Coalition (which campaigns against the privatization of care) criticized the government announcement as raising more questions than answers.

Provincial director Thomas Linner said the near-doubling of funding to recruit the same number of health-care workers is confusing, and the plan doesn’t set out any timelines as benchmarks of success.

“The Manitoba Health Coalition calls on the Stefanson government to treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves. We restate our call for the creation of a front-line health-care workers’ advisory panel to guide the government’s efforts to recruit and retain workers in the public system, and to provide Manitobans with regular updates on the actual results of its efforts,” Linner said in a statement.

» Winnipeg Free Press, with files from Colin Slark/The Brandon Sun