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The Manitoba government held a press conference Thursday to tout that it is closing in on an “ambitious goal” of hiring 1,000 new health-care workers.
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One year into its first term and six months out from its first provincial budget, Premier Wab Kinew and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara were joined by a number of health care professionals at Grace Hospital to announce 873 net new health-care workers have been added.
The hirings break down into 116 physicians, 304 nurses, 290 health-care aides, and 87 in allied health, the province said.
“This is good work, and I want to thank you folks at the front lines, at the bedside, for persevering and continuing to show up (for) Manitobans because today the message to you is that help is coming. Help is on the way, and we thank you so much for your perservance and patience,” Kinew said at the Grace.
“At the same time, I want to be clear, we’re not putting up the mission accomplished banner just yet. It is going to take us many years of sustaining this kind of effort for us to deliver the improvements to health care that we want to see for patients.”
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Asagwara said they’ve worked hard to retain nursing grads within the province, improved safety at major hospitals, launched a retention and recruitment office, and changed requirements to make it easier for nurses to return to practice, among other measures.
Doctors Manitoba said Thursday the physician gains are a “step in the right direction” but cautioned that partial year reporting doesn’t reflect the ebbs and flows surrounding physician licensing.
The announcement comes as about 25,000 health-care support workers across the province are poised to strike Oct. 8.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union will begin strike action on Oct. 8 if it doesn’t get an acceptable contract offer, the unions said Tuesday.
Members voted against the province’s last offer in August and are awaiting word on a counter-offer sent on Sept. 5.
“We’re coming forward with what we think is a very fair offer, with a very good raise in it,” Kinew said. “This deal is 2 1/2 times more than the last deal health care aides got. There’s more money on the table, there’s more health care aides working in the system, and more help is coming.”
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