More than 500 nurses are going to have to decide where they want to work in the first phase of a major restructuring of health care in Winnipeg.

With two ERs in the city changing to urgent care units and one ER closing entirely, patients and services will be moved, and staff -- particularly nurses -- will reflect those changes. The first phase of clinical consolidation, announced in April, will begin in October. Nurses at Grace, Victoria, and Misericordia are the first to be affected.

Deletion notices are being sent to affected nurses by letter, and are anticipated to be mailed out in the next couple of weeks. After deletion, a selection process will give nurses a few options: they can apply for a vacant job in the same unit or on a different unit, they can bump another nurse (if they have the qualifications and more seniority), or they can choose to be laid off.
WRHA Senior Labour Relations Counsel Karlee Blatz says without the selection process there would be the potential for every nurse to be impacted by the bumping process.

Manitoba Nurses Union president Sandi Mowat says selection is a process the union recommended.

"Because we believed it would make the transition smoother, and, you know, cut down on the chaos and ensure patient care wasn't compromised. So, you know, we recognized that it was going to result in quite a few deletions," says Mowat.

Mowat says the MNU didn't know how many nurses would be affected until the WRHA held a media event yesterday. Mowat argues that's not meaningful consultation.

Blatz says every nurse that wants to remain in the WRHA will have an opportunity to do so.

"There is actually increased opportunity for nurses at Grace hospital with the phase one changes, and they also do have a fairly healthy vacancy rate at Grace hospital. So we're confident that nurses who'd want an opportunity even to remain at Grace hospital would be able to do so," says Blatz.

A press release from the WRHA says staff are encouraged to consider all new and vacant positions based on their interest, qualifications, and experience.