More care returns to Dauphin hospital as flood repairs go on

DAUPHIN, Man. Patients in western Manitoba are getting more of their care close to home again, months after summer flooding forced the evacuation of the Dauphin Regional Health Centre. Premier Wab Kinew visited the hospital on Tuesday to mark the services that have come back, and he said the repair job is not finished.

The province described the progress in a statement the same day. According to CTV News, the government has not said when it expects the restoration to be complete.

What has come back

The emergency department reopened in a temporary location inside the health centre on Labour Day, after being closed for just over two months, the Winnipeg Free Press reported. CTV News said the government moved up its own timeline to make that happen.

In recent weeks, electrocardiograms and ultrasound have gone back to their regular spots in the health centre. The province also said additional diagnostic imaging and cardiac stress testing are available again.

Dialysis patients now have a temporary unit in the Dauphin Community Health Services facility, and it is running. CBC News reported that Kinew toured the unit and noted that patients no longer need to travel to Roblin, Brandon or Swan River for treatment.

"It's much, much, much closer. That's a better quality of life," Kinew said, according to CBC News.

Cancer patients have a new option as well. Crews finished renovating a temporary chemotherapy treatment area at the Grandview Health Centre, and patients started receiving treatment there this fall. CTV News had earlier relayed a government statement that the area would be ready for patients starting this fall, and the Free Press and CBC both confirmed it has since been completed.

The flood and the evacuation

Summer flooding badly damaged the health centre. The Free Press reported that more than 50 patients had to be moved out of the hospital on July 1 after severe weather brought floodwater to the region. CBC dated the flooding to the end of June. CTV News said the whole building had to be evacuated.

After the evacuation, Dauphin was left with very limited health services, CBC noted in a link to its earlier coverage. The restoration has since moved ahead in stages, with the emergency department first, then diagnostics, dialysis and chemotherapy.

Reaction from the government

Kinew was joined on the tour by Uzoma Asagwara, the health minister, and Ron Kostyshyn, who holds the agriculture portfolio and is also the MLA for the area. CBC said they walked through hallways that are still under construction, with temporary wires along the corridor.

The Free Press quoted Kinew as saying his government still ranks Dauphin's health services as a top priority, and that significant progress has been made on repair work in recent weeks.

Asagwara pointed to what each restored service means for families. "Every service restored is another step toward returning more care closer to home for patients and families in western Manitoba," the health minister said. Asagwara also thanked the health-care teams who adapted during the recovery while still caring for their communities.

Kinew called it a "minor miracle" that the emergency department was running by Labour Day. He also took aim at the experts who had doubted the schedule. "We had some professionals tell us it was impossible," he said. "We fired them." CTV News reported that Kinew said he was proud of everyone who helped make the reopening happen. Kinew also praised the construction team, the remediation crew and the health-care staff for their flexibility.

The sources do not say who the professionals were, or how many were let go, and the province did not elaborate in the coverage reviewed here.

What happens next

Several pieces of the recovery are still ahead. The province said accessible washrooms serving the emergency department should open within a few weeks. Renovations continue throughout the hospital, and neither the government nor the media reports give a date for the end of the work.

Officials are also developing a pilot program to bring virtual physician care to the emergency department at Ste. Rose General Hospital. The Free Press reported that the aim is to help keep emergency services available in the community.

For now, residents in the Dauphin area can use more services at or near home than they could a few months ago. Patients who rely on dialysis, chemotherapy or heart tests are among those who feel the difference most. The province says work will continue at the hospital, though it has not committed to a finish date.