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In a Rare Move, Two Manitoba Hospitals Declared Unsafe for Nurses | The Walrus

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In a Rare Move, Two Manitoba Hospitals Declared Unsafe for Nurses | The Walrus

IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUT when the attacks occurred. In just forty-five minutes, a slim, dark-haired man wearing a Jets jersey sexually assaulted three nurses and a teenager in and around Winnipeg’s largest hospital, the Health Sciences Centre (HSC), on July 2, according to police.

While officers searched for the suspect, hospital workers finished their shifts and walked back to their vehicles, unaware a predator was at large. Later, police would report that a third woman was assaulted that night in the area, by the same man. Staff didn’t learn what happened until the following day.

For HSC employees, these assaults weren’t an aberration. They were a tipping point after years of increasing violence against hospital staff. In a 2024 survey, one-third of physicians at HSC reported experiencing an average of eleven safety episodes in the previous year, almost double the provincial rate. A safety episode can include threats, violence, sexual assault, and harassment. HSC alone accounted for nearly half of all reported assaults on Manitoba doctors. Physicians described being punched, kicked, spat on, and bombarded with verbal abuse. The danger follows them outside the hospital into walkways and parking lots, where some have been chased and attacked coming to and from the job.

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  • This summer, members of the Manitoba Nurses Union took the rare step of voting to “grey-list” HSC, a powerful public warning issued only five times over the past forty-five years. Grey listing alerts nurses that HSC is deemed unsafe, signalling they should reconsider or use caution when applying to or accepting work there. It doesn’t force current employees to quit, but it sends a clear message to the public and government about the facility’s working conditions. In November, the union grey-listed a second Manitoba facility, Thompson General Hospital, due to unsafe working conditions.

    The vote to grey-list HSC this August came hours after staff learned of a sixth sexual assault on campus in just a couple of weeks, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. Security found the woman and took her inside for treatment. Police arrested a thirty-nine-year-old man soon after. On the same day, a patient being transferred from HSC’s Crisis Response Centre to the ER claimed to be carrying a bomb, sparking a police response. Both incidents underscored the union’s warning that the hospital had become dangerous. Shared Health convened a meeting with union leaders and government officials. In a statement, the organization pointed to steps already implemented over the years, such as hiring more safety officers, adding AI weapon scanners, and installing 100 new cameras. The Manitoba Nurses Union also demanded new measures: swipe-card access for tunnels, secure entrances always staffed, and a notice as soon as it’s known a dangerous offender is active in or near the facility.