Union calls for investigation into hospital for veterans in Winnipeg
Posted June 23, 2019 11:11 am.
OTTAWA — The federal government is being asked to investigate an alleged decline in service at a hospital for veterans in Winnipeg.
The Union of Veterans Affairs Employees says it has received several complaints about the quality of care at Deer Lodge Centre, which the union alleges is the result of cuts to funding and staff at the 400-bed facility.
Deer Lodge’s chief operating officer, Kevin Scott, says some changes were implemented late last year to reflect the declining number of veterans in the hospital, which the federal government transferred to the province in 1983.
But he insists the centre’s 60 veterans are receiving the same if not better care because of the changes.
Nonetheless, the union is asking Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay to launch an independent investigation to ensure the hospital is providing the level of service Canadians expect.
MacAulay’s office says the government is looking into the union’s concerns.
The Canadian Press
