February 11, 2022
Significant Investment to Improve Access, Enhance Care for Residents of Northwestern Interlake Region
– – –Renovations to Ashern's Lakeshore General Hospital Will Reduce Need for Some Patients to Travel to Winnipeg, Allow Others to Return to Region for Recovery Sooner: Gordon
Watch news conference
Residents living in the northern portion of Manitoba’s Interlake will benefit from a significant renovation and expansion of services at Lakeshore General Hospital as part of Manitoba’s commitment to improving access to care, Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced today.
“Ensuring Manitobans have reliable access to health services locally for themselves and their loved ones is an important priority for our government,” said Gordon. “Today’s investment will expand Lakeshore General Hospital’s emergency department and enhance services in Ashern while improving access to some specialized services for Interlake residents, reducing the need for travel to Winnipeg to receive care.”
Construction of an expanded emergency department with additional treatment space and the planned increase of up to 12 inpatient beds will allow Lakeshore General Hospital to meet the area’s growing local health needs. It will also support patient recovery closer to home when their specialized care in Winnipeg has ended.
The province is committing $10.8 million to the improvements with construction expected to begin in late 2022 or early 2023, the minister noted.
“This investment will bolster access to services at Lakeshore General Hospital as the first hospital that residents and visitors from northern Manitoba encounter when travelling south along Highway 6 and will further complement existing health services for residents of Ashern and surrounding communities,” said Marion Ellis, interim chief executive officer, Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. “As part of this work, local communities will be engaged as planning for the redevelopment of Ashern hospital continues over the coming months.”
Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan is committed to improving access to care, quality and equity of care. As such, details of the clinical services to be provided at Lakeshore General Hospital and at other health-care facilities in the region will undergo a collaborative planning process involving local health-care providers and provincial clinical experts as well as Indigenous community leaders and municipal officials.
An important component of this work is collaborative and meaningful engagement with Indigenous leaders, communities and health experts across Manitoba to ensure the province builds an equitable and culturally safe health system that is accessible and responds to the needs and priorities of all Manitobans, noted Gordon.
“We are committed to building a health system that is inclusive and equitable and responds to the needs of all Manitobans,” said Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere. “We will work with Indigenous and municipal leaders to ensure the design and planning of health services meets the needs of their communities including those offered at Lakeshore General Hospital.”
First announced in Budget 2021, Manitoba is making a historic $812-million capital investment in building, expanding and renovating health-care facilities across the province in support of the clinical and preventive services plan. The plan, led by clinicians, establishes a geographic network of care that will improve access to care for all Manitobans and identifies improvements to the reliability and access of health services in the northern portion of the Interlake-Eastern health region as important enablers to achieving that goal.
“Our government is committed to improving patient care for all Manitobans including those living in rural and remote areas of our province,” said Gordon. “While the sickest Manitobans will continue to receive care in our most specialized health-care facilities, investments in health-care facilities across Manitoba will ensure local access to the most commonly required health services as well as more reliable access to more specialized services within rural and northern health regions.”
For more information on Manitoba’s Clinical and Preventive Services Plan, go to: https://sharedhealthmb.ca/wp-content/uploads/CPSP_Overview_NL.pdf.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
Backgrounder
Backgrounder-Clinical and Preventive Services Plan - https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2022/BG-Ashern-HEA.pdf