A critical shortage of emergency room doctors in Winnipeg has prompted the provincial nurses union to sound an alarm over stressed-out emergency staff.

Grace General Hospital was forced to call in family doctors to run its emergency department on the weekend. Seven Oaks General Hospital just barely avoided closing its emergency room a few weeks ago by allowing a family doctor to fill a vacant shift.

Manitoba Nurses' Union president Maureen Hancharyk says when family physicians are called in to take the place of emergency room doctors, there's more stress for already stressed-out ER nurses.

"All family physicians aren't trained to work in emergency. I think it just places much more responsibility and work on the nurses," she said.

City hospitals are experiencing the most critical shortage of emergency room doctors in Western Canada and one of the worst in the country, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
 
The paper surveyed health authorities, health ministries and doctors associations across the country and found very few cities in other provinces with many vacancies, or any vacancies at all.

A vacancy rate of more than 40 per cent at Winnipeg's four community hospitals means some hospitals have had to turn away ambulances in the last few weeks because there weren't enough emergency doctors.

Pay rates are the problem

According to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, the problem is pay rates for emergency room doctors in comparison to other provinces.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Tim Sale offered ER doctors cash incentives to fill vacant shifts.

Dr. Brian Postl, CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, isn't ruling out the possibility of having to call on family physicians to run emergency rooms again this summer.

"From time to time, that may happen. It's not that unusual," he said.

"The key issue is to make sure that the doctors have enough experience in emergency room functions and have a level of comfort working there."