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On April 7, 2017, the Manitoba Government announced their plan to close the Concordia Hospital ER and on May 31, 2018, they confirmed the closure date of June 2019.

What does this mean for the citizens of northeast Winnipeg and surrounding communities?

It means we will lose 24/7 access to health care within our community and at our hospital. Last year, nearly 30,000 people received emergency care at Concordia Hospital.

It means that Concordia Hospital will no longer be an acute care hospital and it will no longer be a community hospital. Instead, it will be a joint replacement surgical and geriatric health centre. Although joint replacement and geriatric services are important to our aging population, 24 hour access to emergency medical care at our community hospital is also vital for all citizens of northeast Winnipeg, including our seniors.

On June 13, 2018, the health minister announced that a walk-in clinic will occupy part of the vacant space created when the emergency department closes. However, a walk-in clinic is not an emergency department and there are already two walk-in clinics within a 100 metres of the proposed new clinic – one directly west of the hospital, on Concordia Ave at Panet Rd, and one directly south of the hospital, on Concordia Ave. We do not need another walk-in clinic within the vicinity of the hospital and we do not need the government to become a landlord for walk-in clinics.

What the community does need is for the government to reverse its decision to close the Concordia ER. We all depend on emergency care to be there when we need it most.

Save the Concordia ER is a nonpartisan citizens group that opposes the closure of the Concordia Hospital ER. Our goal is to ensure that emergency health services continue to be provided at our community’s hospital and accessible to the citizens of northeast Winnipeg and surrounding communities

Members of the Legislature are elected to represent their constituents. As such, the MLAs for northeast Winnipeg have a responsibility to fight for the needs of their communities. We believe that if the members of the community make enough noise, they will have no choice but to listen to their constituents and and fight to keep the Concordia Hospital ER open.

The Filmon government in the 1990’s reversed its decision to close the Concordia Hospital when the community expressed its opposition to the closure – proof that we can impact decisions made by the government. If we did it in the 90’s, we can do it again. If the government of the day listened to the community then, the government of today can listen to the community now.