Top physicians warned Winnipeg hospitals nearing ‘disintegration’ in March letter – CBC

Province later created incentives to encourage doctors to pick up ER, urgent-care shifts

Jun 29, 2026

Top Winnipeg doctors warned in a confidential letter in March that urgent care centres might have to close and another patient death was inevitable unless immediate changes were made.

They say physicians are “repeatedly forced to choose” who gets care first, knowing the condition of other patients might decline while they wait.

“We do not want to stand at the bedside of another person who deteriorated due to preventable delays and gaps in care — knowing their outcome would have been different,” the letter, which was addressed to health-care leadership, said.

“We are asking for urgent action now to prevent a preventable death and to ensure Manitobans can count on timely, safe, compassionate emergency care when they need it most.”

The March 12 internal letter, obtained by CBC News, warned the health-care system is on the verge of “impending disintegration.”

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-hospitals-urgent-care-doctors-9.7248948