Feds sending Red Cross nurses to bolster Manitoba’s critical care system | Globalnews.ca

The federal government has answered Manitoba’s call for additional nurses to support the beleaguered critical care system.

Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair, said on Twitter Saturday afternoon that nurses from the Canadian Red Cross will be deployed to Manitoba until Jan. 17.

A spokeswoman for Blair tells Global News the deployment of up to eight nurses “for ICU, ER, acute care and general nursing” will begin Monday, Dec. 20.

Annie Cullinan adds there is a possibility for an extension, depending on the circumstances when the deployment ends in mid-January.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Red Cross says it’s in the process of identifying nurses to “augment or relieve existing hospital staff in Manitoba.”

“The details of this support are still pending and the Red Cross will share information as it becomes available,” a statement reads.

On Monday the province announced it had asked the federal government to provide 15 to 30 ICU nurses for roughly six weeks.

That request came not long after a group of doctors released an open letter calling for help from the Canadian military for Manitoba’s hospitals.