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This article was published 18/9/2014 (2194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg is a good place to live if you need major surgery or have fractured your hip, but it can be a frustrating place if you're waiting in an emergency room to see a doctor.

A study published Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows Winnipeggers suffer the longest ER waits in Canada.

Grace General Hospital, with an average wait time of 9.1 hours in 2012-2013, had the worst performance in the country.

The CIHI report also found it costs taxpayers much more money for a typical hospital visit in Winnipeg than in many other parts of Canada.

The national study examined seven health categories, including access to services, safety, effectiveness, efficiency and health status.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority performs at or above average in most areas, but on the issue of ER wait times -- long a concern -- it's heading in the wrong direction, according to the report.

While wait times nationally have edged slightly downward since 2009, Winnipeg's have risen significantly.

The average wait to be seen by an ER doctor in Canada is 3.2 hours, while in Winnipeg it's 5.6 hours. Within the city, waits varied greatly from hospital to hospital, with Seven Oaks (4.1 hours) and Health Sciences Centre (4.5 hours) being the shortest.

It should be pointed out that most -- but not all -- provinces were represented in the study and some large cities only provided information for certain hospitals.

Nevertheless, the Winnipeg ER waits are a concern.

Progressive Conservative health critic Myrna Driedger called the information "disturbing."

"These waits are not good for patients and, in fact, could be dangerously long," she said.

Lori Lamont, vice-president for inter-professional practice and chief nursing officer with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said she's disappointed the city's hospital's ER wait times are so long.

She said the WRHA realizes its performance in that area in 2013, when the study occurred, needs to be improved, and the region is taking steps to rectify the problem.

At the same time, she wanted to assure Winnipeggers the city's ERs have a much better record when patients arrive with life-threatening illnesses.

In these situations, patients are seen "as quickly in Manitoba as they are anywhere else," Lamont said.

Meanwhile, the cost of a typical hospital stay in Manitoba, the report found, was more than $300 higher than the Canadian average.

For the WRHA, the cost was much higher still.

The national average cost per hospital stay in Canada was pegged at $5,567 in 2013. In Manitoba, the cost was $5,886. But when it came to hospital stays in Winnipeg, the average cost soared to $6,298.

Health administration costs in Winnipeg, however, were lower than the national average, at four per cent, compared with 4.5 per cent nationally.

Lamont said "slightly higher" staffing levels here may account for some of the higher costs.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca