Winnipeg family doctor accused of losing, mismanaging medical files in ‘pig pen’ clinic – CBC
‘I’m hoping that those who are listening will realize … it needs to be cleaned up’: former employee
Jul 09, 2025
A Winnipeg family physician is accused of mishandling, losing or delaying the transfer of medical files, sometimes resulting in delayed access to medical care — and in one case, leaving a patient on the hook for thousands of dollars in medical bills at a U.S. hospital because the insurance company didn’t receive the necessary documents.
“I felt like dying,” former patient Helena Friesen said in an interview. “I sat and cried. I called my daughter. I said, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t have that kind of money sitting here.'”
Friesen is one of several people who told CBC about their experiences with Dr. Christina Winogrodzka, a general practitioner with Birchwood Medical Clinic in Winnipeg.
In multiple interviews, current patients, former patients and former staff members described experiences with Winogrodzka that suggested recurring themes: lost or missing medical files, patient referrals that weren’t sent, prescriptions that never made it to pharmacists and an office filing system in disarray.
