March 11, 2014
Budget 2014: Province Invests in New Health Teams, Clinics to Help Ensure Access to a Family Doctor for All Manitobans
– – –Manitoba Provides Better, Faster Health Care for Manitoba Families: Minister Selby
Budget 2014 is making investments that will help ensure all Manitobans have access to a family doctor by 2015, with funding for new health-care professionals at doctor’s offices across the province, the launch of the first My Health Teams and construction of new primary care clinics across the province, Health Minister Erin Selby announced today at the location for the third QuickCare Clinic in the city of Winnipeg.
“Our commitment to a family doctor for all Manitobans is about more than just hiring physicians,” said Minister Selby. “It’s about working with our partners to create teams of health professionals, building more clinics, and innovating to improve care and access for families. It’s also about understanding exactly the care and issues an individual has and putting them in contact with the medical expert that can best help them.”
“This is about collaboration and making the health system better for our communities,” said Karen Ilchyna, a registered nurse and regional director, primary health care integration, Southern Health‑Santé Sud Health Region.
Minister Selby said Budget 2014 includes support for several initiatives that will help link thousands of Manitoba families with the health care they need when they need it including:
- Hiring over 50 health professionals to work in independent family doctor clinics around the province to offer their existing patients better care, while allowing the clinics to take on up to 1,000 more patients.
- Opening of new clinics such as ACCESS Winnipeg West at Grace Hospital, new QuickCare clinics and clinics in rural Manitoba including three mobile clinics, the first of which is now on the road in the Prairie Mountain Health Region, bringing nurses and nurse practitioners into some of Manitoba’s more under-serviced communities. Each mobile clinic is expected to become the home clinic for up to 1,000 Manitobans who don’t have a regular care provider now.
- Launching the first of 14 My Health Teams, which will beup and running in the Steinbach area this spring with the others to follow by the end of year. These teams will provide primary care to families and could include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives, dietitians, mental-health professionals or pharmacists and others, based on the needs of the population. The makeup of each team will be unique, as they are designed around the needs of their communities. Each team is expected to help connect up to 2,000 more Manitobans with care.
“My Health Teams are key to more holistic patient care,” said Dr. Mark Duerksen, family physician, Steinbach Family Medical. “These networks benefit the patient first by offering a co-ordinated access to several health resources to encourage wellness.”
The province has already opened four nurse practitioner-led QuickCare Clinics and four more are in development and expected to open before the end of 2015. The new clinic location announced today at 620 Dakota St. in St. Vital is expected to open later this year. QuickCare Clinics will work jointly with local physicians and clinics to build strong and co-ordinated care options for families, the minister said. The existing QuickCare Clinics have seen over 64,000 patients since opening, offering same‑day care for routine health needs such as a cold or flu, minor infections, stomach pain, stress or anxiety at times when other clinics may be closed.
“The WRHA is committed to providing accessible, innovative care for citizens of Winnipeg,” said Réal Cloutier, chief operating officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. “We’re excited about the collaborative efforts that everyone has put forward to make these new health innovations a reality. It all amounts to our clients receiving the right care in the right place when they need it most.”
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
Backgrounder
Doctors in Manitoba - https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2014/03/Better_quicker_BG.HL.doc