Manitoba hospital grey-listed as unsafe working environment: MNU

The Manitoba Nurses’ Union has officially greylisted Thompson General Hospital due to safety concerns. Harrison Shin explains.

A second Manitoba hospital has been declared unsafe for nurses.

The Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) voted to grey-list Thompson General Hospital, the biggest hospital in northern Manitoba.

97 per cent of the nurses at the hospital voted in favour of grey listing, after a shooting and a stabbing over the last year.

“We have to be very vigilant. We know there’s things happening in facilities and I think we have to be very vigilant that the individuals are safe when they are in those facilities,” MNU president Darlene Jackson told CTV News over the phone.

Jackson said the staff at the hospital have been raising safety concerns since a shooting in its chapel on Christmas Eve in 2024. Jackson said Thompson nurses called for additional safety officers and the province followed suit, announcing in its throne speech that eight safety officers are slated for the hospital.

Still, Jackson said the nurses are done.

“They’ve been promised, but where are they? I just think that nurses are tired of waiting. They’re tired of being put at risk. Their patients are being put at risk and visitors being put at risk.”

Working conditions at Manitoba’s hospitals have been under fire recently. Police alleged four women were sexually assaulted near Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre (HSC) in July. About a month later, they investigated another sexual assault – this time across from the adult emergency room.

On Nov. 8, a sexual assault was reported at St. Boniface Hospital’s parkade. While police said it was a ‘hospital employee’, Jackson told CTV News that it was a nurse. This is the sixth victim within five months.

Laurilyn Greig-Haines was visiting St. Boniface Hospital on Friday and she commented that it’s not enough to say “gosh, we’re sorry that happened.”

“I think once incidents like these no longer make the news, we’ll know that the province is doing enough.”

After the incidents at HSC, two Winnipeg police officers were stationed at the hospital in November. For some visitors – like Ken Yakiselashek, it appears to be working.

“The feeling when you see the police officers, I think it brings up about a feeling of maybe more confidence and a safer space,” Yakiselashek said.

In a statement, Health Minister Uzoma Asagawara reiterated that eight security officer positions were posted this week for Thompson General Hospital.

“Nurses are committed to their patients. Even at HSC, 39 nurses were hired and vacancy rates declined after the grey-list vote,” Asagwara said in a statement.

“That willingness to keep caring for patients speaks to the dedication of frontline staff, and we are committed to matching that with continued safety and staffing improvements.”