Manitoba Nurses Union denounces growing wait list for care home placements
Posted December 4, 2025 8:56 pm.
Last Updated December 4, 2025 9:06 pm.
Hundreds of Manitobans continue to wait for care home placements, according to the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU), with total waits hitting the highest number since august of 2022 putting a strain on hospitals and patients’ families.
According to MNU, in July, 266 Manitobans waited personal care home placements, but now the number has climbed to 347.
Darlene Jackson, president of MNU, says the delay in care placements causes more hospital beds to be occupied longer.
“We see more and more bottlenecking in our emergency departments. And that is, of course, increasing our wait times which causes more and more frustration for individuals who are waiting in emergency rooms for hours and hours.”
Jackson says the shortage of care has discharged patients coming back to hospitals with more serious conditions.
“They need more care that did before, and I think that is a big issue. Because you need staff to provide the chronic care that they need. And the staffing has not moved along with the increase of comorbidities that we are seeing in long-term care.”
CityNews spoke with a homecare attendant who asked to remain anonymous due to employment concerns.
She claims her family member is stuck in a position of exceeding hours for homecare, but overnight care is not provided
“He will be hastily put into any nursing home that opens. Even if it’s away from our current area. So it’s very frightening,” she says.
In as statement, the Ministry of Health, Seniors and Long-term Care said, “We know families are waiting, and we know how stressful that is. That’s exactly why we’re rebuilding long-term care, expanding capacity, and strengthening home care so seniors can get the right care, in the right place, when they need it.”
The homecare attendant says, “We would love to have my relative at home. It would be so wonderful for him to be at home. And have my mom to be able to sleep at night.”
