Minor injury and illness clinics to open at Grace, Misericordia hospitals in fall, province says

New minor injury and illness clinics will open at the Misericordia and Grace hospitals in Winnipeg this fall, the Manitoba government says.

The province has issued a request for private provider proposals to run publicly funded minor injury and illness clinics at the two hospitals.

The Grace Hospital clinic, which will be at the current Access Winnipeg West walk-in clinic, is scheduled to open in September, and the Misericordia Hospital clinic will open in the former urgent care centre in fall, the province said in two news releases Thursday. The Misericordia's former urgent care centre was closed in 2017.

"It's going to make a world of difference to people who need access to primary care," Health Minister Uzoma Asagwarasaid Friday.

"It's so important for people to get care in their communities and not be forced or limited to going to emergency rooms or urgent cares."

The clinics will run similarly to a minor injury and illness clinic that's scheduled to open in Brandon in September, the news releases said. The news release about the Grace clinic also said it will run similarly to the minor injury and illness clinic on Corydon Avenue in Winnipeg.

Both clinics will offer the option of walk-in appointments or booking same or next-day appointments online. They will operate seven days a week with extended hours, the province said.

The Misericordia clinic will have doctors and other health-care professionals who will provide non-emergency acute care services and support for minor health concerns, it said.

"We're making sure that this clinic is a public model that Manitobans can access no matter how much money they have in their bank account," said Asagwara.

The Grace clinic will also have doctors and provide primary care services and support for minor health concerns, including minor injuries, that news release said. The Grace Hospital still has an emergency department for more urgent issues.

The Access Winnipeg West walk-in currently has registered nurses and nurse practitioners Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A request for proposals for management and operation of the clinic for three years, with a two-year option, was posted online Thursday, with a closing date of Aug. 28.

Minor injury clinics won't cut down ER waitimes: ER doctor

Dr.AlecsChochinovis an ER doctor at St. Boniface Hospital and is also theauthor of the 2017 final report of theprovincial wait times reduction task force.

Chochinov said while these type of clinics will make a difference for patients with primary care problems, theywon't "move the mark on emergency room department overcrowding."

"It's unfortunate that primary care access is confused with the other, emergency room department overcrowding," he said in an interview on CBCRadio'sUp To Speed Friday.

Chochinov also said the Misericordia clinic "really needed" to be tailored to the social determinants and health of the population of people who live close to the space. In 2017, the task force said in its report the people who lived around the Misericordia Hospital tendto have socially and financiallycomplex situations and a prevalence of mental health problems.

"This was an opportunity for them to create something really unique to address the vulnerable population in that area," he said. "From what I cansee it's not oriented towards that at all, it's for the general population's minor aches and sprains.

"As far as making appointments online, that certainly is not tailored to patientswho might not even have access to a computer."

Chochinov also said while the clinic on Corydon is "tremendous," he reiterated that minor injury clinics won't take the place of an emergency departments.

"It's not going to make things better for the people in our hallways," he said.