by Katiana Krawchenko

Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Hospital opened a new emergency room in early October, completing the first phase of a years-long construction project at Manitoba’s longest-running hospital. 

“It’s a beautiful space and it’s much better equipped to help our patients,” said Dr. Zoe Piggott, Medical Site Director of the St. Boniface Hospital Emergency Department. ​“I’m excited that patients will be more comfortable and hopefully less scared when they come in on what is often one of the most difficult days of their lives.” 

The new $141 million project brings several improvements: 

• An expanded, central resuscitation area 
  
• A dedicated diagnostic imaging suite, with a new CT scanner and x‑ray machine 
  
• Private exam rooms in treatment areas 
  
• A dedicated mental health treatment area 
  
• An expanded waiting room and triage area 
  
• A dedicated ambulance entrance and parking bay for 10 ambulances 
  
• 27 high acuity beds, up from 6 
  

The new space will help doctors and staff provide more private and dignified care to patients, added Dr. Piggott. 

“We have all kinds of difficult, private and complicated conversations with people all of the time,” she explained. ​“It’ll be really nice to do that in a space where we can just focus on each other, the relationship and the care, rather than worrying about bumping into someone else across the curtain or the noise coming in from outside, along with what time it is, or whether there’s a safe place to review those things.” 

Investing in Physician Retention 

Now that the new ER is open, the existing ER space is now under renovation and will add another 18,600 square feet. The new facility is expected to open in 2026. Once complete and fully staffed, the emergency department in its entirety is expected to handle 55,000 visits per year, compared to the 39,000 seen in 2023 – 24. 

Anticipation of the new space appears to have helped with recruitment and retention already. From August 2024 to August 2025, the WRHA reports that the vacancy rate for ED nurses at St. Boniface Hospital declined from 24.3% to 7.3%. The WRHA also reported the department has 40 emergency physicians, up from 33 in 2024, bringing shifted hours up from 87 per day to 100. 

The emergency department modernization at St. Boniface comes at a time when new data shows Manitoba is losing more doctors than it is retaining them. In 2024, Manitoba saw a net loss of 8.3 physicians per 1,000 to other provinces, the second worst performance of all provinces. 

“Improving facilities not only enhances the patient experience, but health care providers’ as well,” said Dr. Desilets. ​“Access to modern equipment and infrastructure allows physicians to deliver the best care they can, which leads to better job satisfaction. This is a crucial aspect of any approach to how we retain doctors in Manitoba.” 

Dr. Piggott echoes this sentiment, noting how essential it is for physicians and other health care providers to feel good about what they’re doing.
​“People want to come to work in a place where they feel like they can provide good care,” she noted. ​“That makes us better health care providers, and that makes us feel better about our jobs. And when people feel good about the care they’re providing, they want to stay here and they want to come here. And it’s already happening.” 

ER Closures and Disruptions in Manitoba 

A Doctors Manitoba survey of ER physicians earlier this year found high levels of burnout and distress, with nearly a third (30%) of physicians indicating they are considering reducing their hours or resigning their ER duties completely if conditions don’t change. This past summer alone, only a quarter of rural Manitoba’s ERs were expected to operate at full capacity, with similar trends seen in Winnipeg. 

Investment in new modern spaces like this can help play a role in improving care, but only if matched by a focus on recruiting and retaining doctors and staff. It is part of a complex system that demands a complex approach. 

“When there aren’t enough nursing home beds or home care supports, people get stuck in hospital beds for longer, and that in turn means people waiting in the ER for admission to a hospital bed wait longer too,” said Dr. Desilets. ​“Patients can wait in an ER bed for admission to hospital, sometimes for 24 – 48 hours or longer, which means that ER bed isn’t available to treat patients waiting for ER care.” 

As the Manitoba government laid out this spring in its Lower Wait Time Strategy, lowering wait times is a multi-pronged effort throughout the three phases of a patient’s health care experience: triage and admission, inpatient care and outpatient treatment that allows patients to return home safely, and rebuilding Manitoba’s healthcare worker capacity is a critical requirement for any improvements to emergency department wait times. 

“We hope to see the province continue increasing its investment in recruiting more doctors and nurses in the ER, hospital and broader health care system, as that foundational investment will result in better access and shorter wait times for patients,” said Dr. Desilets. 

Looking Ahead

Sustained investment in adding more hospital capacity, more resources for care for the elderly through personal care homes and home care, along with more physician coverage in the ERs and urgent care centres will be crucial to improving Manitoba’s emergency room wait times and disruptions. 

In addition to continuing renovations in 2026 at St. Boniface, Winnipeg’s Victoria Hospital will break ground on a new emergency room. Construction is set to begin in January.