Allied Health Professionals Endorse Kinew’s Health Care Plan  
 

September 25, 2023 | Treaty 1 and Dakota Territory, Homeland of the Red River Métis, Winnipeg – Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew stood with allied health professionals today to mark the start of the final week of an election campaign focused on fixing the damage done to health care by the Stefanson PCs.  

“An NDP government has a vision for health care that starts with staffing up the system so that we can build three new emergency rooms, starting at Victoria Hospital. We can’t achieve that vision without allied health professionals,” said NDP Leader Wab Kinew. “Our plan to hire, train and retain allied health staff will mean more preventative care for Manitobans and shorter wait times in ERs. 

An NDP government would recognize the critical role allied health professionals play in delivering preventative care to patients in hospital or in community and reducing wait times in emergency rooms.  

Kinew committed to include allied health professionals in his $500 million recruitment plan. He stressed that by hiring more allied health workers who can provide preventative care across the system, we can reduce the volume of patients in ERs and improve patient flow within hospitals by discharging patients faster. Kinew would support allied health professionals like occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, mental health workers, lab techs and others.  

Kinew would strengthen allied health care by:  

• Offering targeted incentives to allied health professionals to work in rural and Northern communities, including more diagnostic imaging and lab technologists.  
• Putting more allied health professionals in communities with Neighbourhood Illness and Injury Clinics where patients can access diagnostic testing.  
• Including allied health professionals like social workers, occupational therapists, mental health clinicians and pharmacists in Primary Care Teams within family medical centres to offer wraparound supports with extended family-friendly hours.  

“There are 44 specialized allied health professions that deliver essential care for patients at every step of their health-care journey. But allied health has been ignored by the PC government for years. Now we are facing a staffing crisis that is driving up wait times for everything from MRIs and ambulances to ERs and home care,” said Jason Linklater President of MAHCP. “It’s time for change. Hiring more allied health professionals will mean more timely and comprehensive care that keeps patients healthy at home and helps them get discharged faster. We support this plan.” 

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