Manitobans have the worst access to after-hours medical care, according to a new national report.

The Health Council of Canada has released the results of a national survey that found only 25 per cent of doctors in Manitoba reported their patients had access to care on evenings and weekends.

By comparison, 67 per cent of doctors in Ontario said arrangements had been made for after-hours care for their patients.

Winnipeg physician Dr. Michael Moffat said those numbers could reflect the lack of incentives for clinics in the province to stay open late.

"We're provided the emergency departments, we're provided the Health Links/Info Santé for people to call, and we haven't done anything, really, to encourage primary care physicians to provide services," he told CBC News on Monday.

Moffat said he thinks that will begin to change as the province opens more Quick Care clinics and encourages doctors to stay open beyond 5 p.m.

Those changes will require large-scale cooperation before patients will get better access to after-hours medical care, according to Moffat.

"You need to have a network. No one person or small group of doctors can be on-call all the time," he said.

The survey found the problem is endemic across the country, with Canadians having the least access to after-hours care than people in similar countries.

When compared to Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand and the United States, Canada fared the poorest in providing rapid access to doctors — that is, same-day or next-day medical appointments. This was especially true when people became ill or injured outside of regular working hours, the report found.

With files from The Canadian Press