November 27, 2025
Manitoba Government Adds Doctors to Health Links to Strengthen Care, Reduce Emergency Room Referrals
– – –Initiative Part of Lower Wait Times Strategy: Asagwara
The Manitoba government has launched a new initiative to add physicians to Health Links–Info Santé so Manitobans seeking everyday health-care services can receive advice from both nurses and physicians, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today.
“I know many Manitobans have had the experience of calling Health Links, only to be told to go wait for hours in an emergency room,” said Asagwara. “By adding physicians to the service, we’re giving patients direct access to primary care, on the phone and helping to reduce unnecessary referrals to emergency care. It means more peace of mind for patients and less pressure on the health-care system.”
Health Links–Info Santé is a bilingual, nurse-managed telephone program which Manitobans can call for assessment, triage and health advice. Depending on a patient’s clinical needs, nurses may refer callers to their family physician, a walk-in clinic or direct them to an emergency department or urgent care centre.
A physician was added to the Health Links–Info Santé program earlier this month, available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Later in December, another clinician will join the service, making physician services available after overnight. In the long term, nurse practitioners will also be part of the service. These changes mean patients who require further clinical assessment may be transferred to a physician, offered primary care services and provided clinical advice over the phone, the minister noted.
Health Links–Info Santé receives on average 400 calls per day. Of those calls, an average of 40 patients are triaged to emergency departments each day. In the first 10 days of the new physician service, 160 patients were transferred to speak with a doctor and only 10 of those patients were triaged to an emergency department.
The initiative is part of the Manitoba government’s efforts to reduce emergency room wait times, led by the lower wait times implementation team. By strengthening existing phone and virtual health services, lower-acuity patients can receive the right care when they need it and avoid the emergency room, noted the minister.
More information on the Manitoba’s government Lower Wait Times Strategy is available here: https://manitoba.ca/asset_library/en/lowerwait/lower-wait-times-strategy.pdf.
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