‘Somebody’s gonna die’: Dialysis patients consider skipping treatment over riding Winnipeg Transit Plus

It’s a day Winnipeg senior Debbie Menard remembers well.

In January, the 71-year-old was being driven to Seven Oaks General Hospital by Winnipeg Transit Plus for one of three weekly dialysis treatments.

“We just had a snowfall, and the hospital had not cleared the parking lot or the ramps in the dialysis area,” Menard recalled.

She says her Transit Plus driver refused to take her to the main door where a path was clear.

“I tried to get up the ramp, of course I fell because the wheels wouldn’t go through the snow. And I had to lay there for half an hour.”

The driver reportedly told Menard he could not help her up after a fall because he wasn’t allowed.

“He just left. Got in his car and left. Said, ‘I can’t do anything so I’m leaving.’”

Emergency medical technicians eventually arrived to help her.

“That was a very wet snow, so by the time I’m getting in there, I’m over half an hour late for dialysis and I’m in wet clothes.”

Later that evening, Menard says Transit Plus did reach out to make sure she was OK. But the damage was done for the 71-year-old, who has been receiving dialysis for nearly a decade.

And it’s not just the January fall. Menard says the stress of getting to and from the hospital with Transit Plus has become overwhelming. The Winnipeg senior even asked her doctors if she could go down to two treatments a week to avoid time spent on Transit Plus, but they said it would kill her.

‘Somebody’s gonna die’

Winnipeg dialysis patients like Menard have become frustrated with Transit Plus, which provides door-to-door transportation for Winnipeggers who can’t use the city’s fixed public transit routes because of a physical disability.

Several have told CityNews they sometimes opt to skip life-saving treatments to avoid getting on Winnipeg Transit Plus.

That’s the case for 71-year-old Carol Lorimer, who has end-stage kidney disease and gets dialysis three times a week.

“We can’t seem to get it across to the people who can make the changes that it’s a life-or-death situation,” Lorimer said.

“I believe that somebody’s gonna die. Flat out die. You can’t live under this stress.”

Death is indeed a topic of conversation among this group of Winnipeg seniors who all know each other from treatments at Seven Oaks – and even bonded over their dislike for Transit Plus.

Menard says she felt pushed to the edge, and told her friends John and Linda Egdell she would rather die than continue riding on Transit Plus.

“I can understand it because what’s happening, but when somebody comes out and tells you that, it’s like getting hit with a baseball bat,” said John, 82.

“We just said, ‘no, Debbie’s gonna come with us now,” added his wife Linda, 74. “We’re not gonna let you suffer through that anymore as long as I can drive.”

“I got upset,” said Lorimier. “I got angry when John told me this, because this is what it’s coming down to.”

“It’s gotten so bad with the rides. If it hadn’t been for my friends John and Linda, I wouldn’t be here because I would have quit. I just can’t handle it,” Menard said.

John and Linda say life is filled with enough difficult situations, they don’t want to have to deal with the issues that come with Transit Plus.

“It makes it more difficult to deal with the things that we know that we should be dealing with, instead of having to think about, is John gonna be home OK? Is he gonna get there OK?” Linda said.

“After dialysis sometimes his blood pressures are so low, and he can easily want to pass out. I thought to myself, if he was in the car with one of those, I don’t know what would happen to him. Where would I find him?”

New Transit Plus software

Earlier this month, CityNews detailed how Winnipeg Transit Plus’ new booking software called “On Request” is leaving some seniors frustrated.

Menard confirms the new software, introduced last year, is making things difficult.

“Every time they update their system, it’s gotten worse and worse and worse. This is the worst yet,” she said.

John, who’s done dialysis three times a week for seven years, says since the new software, routes are unpredictable.

“I’ve seen parts of the city that I didn’t even know were here before, because they’d pick me up at the hospital and we’d be driving as far over as Concordia Hospital.”

The City of Winnipeg says since it’s switched over to the new system in June, it’s seen “drastic improvements,” claiming on-time trips are at 95 per cent.

“Which is at the top end or exceeding the industry standard range of 92 to 95 per cent,” the city said in a statement.

The city also says it’s also increased the number of customers – previously unaccommodated trip requests – it can now offer a ride to.

“In 2023, we sent 3,646 bookings to our overflow provider, Winnipeg WAV. These are all trips our fleet could not accommodate under our old trip-booking system. Since June 2024 to present, we have not needed to use our overflow provider at all, and have had less than 10 total unaccommodated trips” as of Feb. 6.

The city adds Transit Plus drivers physically help passengers to and from the vehicle and with mobility aids and seatbelts if needed.

“While there have been many successes with our trip-booking system, we do realize it is new and will take time for everyone to get used to,” the statement reads. “However, the feedback we’ve received directly from customers has been overwhelmingly positive. We continue to analyze the system’s performance and feedback we receive from customers. We are committed to continue improving the system wherever possible.”

Dedicated service is needed: advocate

But the group says it’s not seeing any positive changes — from late trips to long wait times.

Kidney disease advocate Lorimer says if Transit Plus can’t accommodate people going for medical treatments, there needs to be a dedicated service to help them.

“For people that cannot afford to take an Uber, a taxi or they don’t have a friend or anybody, that’s the only way they can get there. It’s the only way they can afford to get life-sustaining treatment,” she said.

“Dialysis patients, cancer patients are not the same as somebody that is elderly, needs a ride to go play bingo, needs to go to the casino, needs to get a hair cut, needs to go get groceries.”

Lorimer says she hears from seniors who are afraid of speaking out against Winnipeg Transit Plus because of a rumour that complaining can lead to losing service.

“That is a lie, and that lie has to stop, because it’s preventing people from letting Transit Plus know what needs to be changed,” Lorimer said.