St. Boniface Hospital doctors worry long wait times being normalized as ER might have set record

Emergency physicians at St. Boniface Hospital said it's demoralizing to see long wait times at Manitoba's second-largest hospital, and elsewhere in the health-care system, having become increasingly normalized over the years.

Dr. Aaron Guinn says 57 people were waiting for care at the Winnipeg emergency department as of his last shift Wednesday evening. The doctor said those numbers would have once been "unheard of," but it wasn't even the worst day the department has had this week.

About 70 people were stuck in the waiting room Monday, Dr. Noam Katz — who also works at the emergency department — told CBC News. Some were waiting for care for 20 hours or more without seeing any movement, he said.

Guinn said there were 75 people waiting for care that evening, which he said would be an all-time record for the hospital. The previous record of 74 was set shortly after the new emergency department opened last fall, Guinn said.