Manitoba to make changes to home-care scheduling after turbulent transition to new model

The Manitoba government is restructuring the way it delivers home care in the province to reduce cancelled appointments.

The Manitoba government is restructuring its delivery of home care in Winnipeg following issues with the centralized scheduling model implemented earlier this year, Manitoba’s health minister announced.

Starting Oct. 1, shifts for scheduling clerks will be adjusted for “predictability and coverage,” with clerks returning to being assigned a primary geographic area with dedicated teams.

The changes are expected to reduce home-care cancellations and limit travel time for home-care aides so they can spend more time with clients, according to a news release.

The restructuring comes after the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) transitioned scheduling to a centralized office this spring with the intent of improving services.

“That transition did not go the way that it should have. Too many families saw disruptions that caused frustrations and uncertainty, and for that, I sincerely apologize,” said Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara during a news conference on Monday.

Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson told CTV News last month that prior to the centralized scheduling model, home-care schedulers were situated in different quadrants of the city. They were also located in the same office space as the nursing resource coordinator and nurses who provided care in that area.

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Jackson said the centralized model led to home-care schedulers being pulled into one central office, which led to a breakdown in communication between schedulers, home-care workers and clients.

In response to challenges stemming from the revised scheduling model, the WRHA announced this summer it onboarded 32 new scheduling clerks and was reviewing procedures that were not working for staff and clients.

Asagwara said the latest changes come as a “direct result” of listening to sector workers and clients.

“We know there’s still much more work to do, but these changes reflect what we can do when we work together,” Asagwara said.

CUPE Local 204 president Margaret Schroeder, who also spoke at the news conference, said that home-care workers will receive the benefits and pension that other health-care workers receive starting on Oct. 1.

“This is a massive improvement to the lives of home-care workers and a significant tool for the retention and recruitment of staff,” Schroeder said.

Thousands of Manitobans rely on home care, with over 16,000 daily visits in Winnipeg alone, according to Asagwara.

The province said the WRHA has hired more than 250 net new home-care aides since the fall of 2023.

-With files from CTV’s Danton Unger