Manitoba spends $30M on expansion that could triple intensive care beds at Winnipeg's Grace Hospital

The Manitoba government is providing nearly $30 million for an expansion project at Grace Hospital to increase the number of intensive care beds, Premier Heather Stefanson announced on Sunday.

The project will add up to 20 more beds to the existing 10-bed intensive care unit at the west Winnipeg hospital.

At a press conference at the hospital Sunday, reporters asked Stefanson about staffing for the new beds, as well as a letter sent by 45 physicians to the health minister in March warning of a lack of oversight for patients in the medicine in-patient ward after hours because of a lack of staff at the Grace.

"Health care is not going to be fixed overnight," she replied. "We know that there is still much more work that needs to be done, and we will continue to listen to those on the front line as we develop further actions moving forward to make sure we reach our target."

Stefanson said any additional staffing needed to support the new beds at the Grace will be supplied through the government's existing $200-million plan to add 2,000 health-care workers.

"We'll establish what the needs are there, and ensure that we've got the appropriate staff there for them as well on the operational side."

The $30 million will go toward the Grace Hospital Foundation's initiative to expand the ICU. Last October, Stefanson said at a gala her government would support the foundation's campaign for a new ICU.

The west Winnipeg hospital, like many other health-care facilities in the province, has been strained by overworked employees, a high number of staffing vacancies and heavy patient volumes. The premier said the issue is not unique to Manitoba and has been seen across the country.

"It's a significant challenge that we're all facing right now, but I think we're taking significant steps in the right direction."

Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew responded by saying Manitobans have lost trust in Stefanson and know her health-care announcements are not authentic.

"Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson cut 14 per cent of the ICU beds in Winnipeg just prior to the pandemic. It's clear this most recent announcement is an attempt to distract from their rejection of improvements to public health care requested by surgeons at the Grace Hospital," he said in a Sunday statement.

Kinew said it will take years to repair the Grace and mend the province's relationship with front-line health-care workers there.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon said there's a clear need for more care options for critically ill patients.

"We saw this even during the pandemic, that we needed more ICU capacity and we want to ensure that the Grace is able to respond not just to pandemics or emergency situations, but just in general to the needs of the population," Gordon said in an interview Thursday with CBC News.