The Manitoba government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen safety at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Winnipeg with a 24-hour on-site police presence in the adult emergency department.
The new police presence will see two uniformed Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) officers patrolling the HSC and emergency department, working in collaboration with Institutional Safety Officers (ISOs) and Shared Health security teams to protect staff, patients and visitors in Manitoba’s largest hospital.
“Health-care workers deserve to feel safe when they come to work and patients deserve care in a secure environment,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara. “Our government promised action on safety, and we’re delivering by investing in the tools, technology and people to make HSC safer, because safety and staffing go hand in hand. There’s more work to do, but when we make hospitals safer, it helps everyone. That’s how we build a stronger, more stable workforce, and a better environment for patients.”
The WPS welcomed the new partnership and reaffirmed its commitment to working collaboratively with the Manitoba government and Shared Health to strengthen safety at HSC. The service noted that police are an important part of a layered safety plan, along with ISOs and security guards to protect patients, families and staff.
“I am pleased to partner with the Manitoba government and Shared Health on this initiative,” said Gene Bowers, chief of the WPS. “In conjunction with enhanced security measures, the WPS will be one part of a layered security protocol working in partnership with ISOs and security guards in and around the Health Sciences Centre. It is our intention to ensure a safe environment for everyone.”
Bowers added that he looks forward to continued collaboration with the Manitoba government and Shared Health on future protocols aimed at ensuring individuals experiencing mental health crises are connected quickly with the appropriate health-care professionals, allowing police members to return to their duties in the community.
The 24-7 police presence builds on a broad package of safety upgrades recently implemented at HSC, the minister noted. Shared Health reduced the number of public entrances to support safer entry. Every remaining access point now features enhanced security infrastructure including staffed screening, improved lighting and upgraded access controls to ensure everyone enters through a secure, monitored space. Shared Health also installed more than 260 new and upgraded cameras across the campus, and expanded safety patrols with 14 new ISOs, who provide additional on-site coverage throughout the hospital including more frequent monitoring of tunnel areas that are equipped with new swipe-card access points and additional panic buttons.
Shared Health permanently added artificial intelligence weapons scanners to the adult emergency and children’s emergency departments as well as the Crisis Response Centre, making HSC the first health-care facility in Manitoba and only the second in Canada to implement this advanced technology. Shared Health is currently introducing five new scanners (in phases to ensure a safe and efficient flow of people entering the hospital.
