Manitoba government appoints Wait Time Reduction Task Force chair

The Manitoba government says it has appointed committee members for its new Wait Time Reduction Task Force and will soon hold public consultations across the province.

Wayne Elhard, who worked in broadcasting before serving as a member of the legislative assembly in Saskatchewan between 1999 and 2016, will chair the committee.

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The government said Elhard has experience in policy related to the delivery of health services, primarily in rural communities, as well as with health-care systems in Saskatchewan, Ontario and the United States.

The task force will look at wait times for emergency care as well as surgical and diagnostic procedures and identify ways to improve the process.

"The work of this task force is key to identifying the processes that are not working and which must be improved if we are to ensure better patient care and the long-term sustainability of our health-care system," Kelvin Goertzen, Manitoba's health minister, said in a news release.

For information on public consultations visit the task forcewebsite.