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This article was published 6/4/2017 (1259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s hospital system may be in for a shakeup that could see the closure of one or more emergency departments and a concentration of surgeries into fewer facilities.

An announcement by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority on the future of health care in the city is scheduled for today. Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen has said he will attend.

The timing of the announcement had been a closely guarded secret, but Premier Brian Pallister let the cat out of the bag earlier in the week when speaking with reporters.

"It’s going to be pretty meaty, and it’s going to be the subject of a lot of debate," an enthusiastic Pallister said of the announcement, without elaborating.

The premier, when asked, also wouldn’t rule out closing one or more city emergency departments, as the government seeks to make the system more responsive and efficient.

A source in the health field told the Free Press today’s announcement would be "significant" and "long overdue," but would not get into specifics.

The changes, the source said, appear to be based on "very sound research" and physicians in the know are "very on board and excited" about them.

There has been plenty of speculation about the possible consolidation of acute-care hospital services since the province released a consultant’s report in February that had been commissioned by the former NDP government.

It recommended consolidation of general surgery and emergency department services into the Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface General Hospital and one of the four community hospitals.

The report, titled Provincial Clinical and Preventive Services Planning for Manitoba, Doing Things Differently and Better, proposes that the remaining city hospitals be designated for convalescence and rehabilitation services.

With all city hospitals possessing critical-care units and emergency departments, "the system has evolved into an expensive, unsustainable model that is failing patients and potentially could result in harm," the report said. "The majority of patients in medical beds in the WRHA do not require this level of care, and in fact are at the level of convalescence or simply waiting for a non-hospital option."

Goertzen said the Progressive Conservative government has been studying the recommendations of the 233-page report by Nova Scotia consultant David Peachey very closely.

In answer to a question in the legislature this week, Goertzen said difficult decisions will have to be made in improving the quality and efficiency of health care. He vowed that such decisions are "going to be driven by experts... such as Dr. Peachey."

Speaking to reporters Thursday, the health minister wouldn’t confirm whether the consolidation of surgeries and emergency department services were on his agenda. But neither did he dismiss such speculation.

"My task and what my focus has been is to ensure that whatever decisions we made are being made on the basis of research, what experts are telling us, analysis and not whether or not it’s going to be a difficult decision tomorrow or the next day, or a week from now or five months from now," he said.

Goertzen said the Peachey report represents "one of the first times" that such an in-depth review has been carried out on the delivery of health care services in Winnipeg.

Any consolidation of general surgery and emergency care would likely take several years to implement and would require greater operating-room space at the hospitals left with that task. Similarly, emergency departments would have to be expanded where ER services continue.

Winnipeggers already experience some of the longest emergency-room wait times in the country.

If all but three hospital emergency departments were to be closed, tens of thousands of patients each year would be funnelled to different facilities. In 2015-16, there were 279,915 visits to Winnipeg ERs.

Here is the breakdown:

• Health Sciences Centre (including Children’s Hospital) — 110,524

• Seven Oaks General Hospital — 41,311

• St. Boniface General Hospital — 40,156

• Victoria General Hospital — 31,079

• Concordia Hospital — 29,608

• Grace General Hospital — 27,237

While Grace hospital had the fewest number of ER visits last year, its emergency department is undergoing a multimillion-dollar redevelopment that is expected to be completed by next spring.

The emergency departments at two other community hospitals — Victoria in 2011 and Seven Oaks in 2008 — have undergone recent redevelopments. Renovations — not a full redevelopment — were carried out at Concordia in 2008.

NDP health critic Matt Wiebe (Concordia) said he is concerned about what a revamping of hospital services may mean for people.

"Right now what people see is a reduction of service in their own community. And that is worrisome to them," he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca