Essential Manitoba health-care workers stuck at home, waiting for child care

Some health-care workers who should be on the front lines fighting COVID-19 say they are stuck at home, waiting for child care that was promised days ago.

Meanwhile, several daycares in Winnipeg say they've beensitting empty since Monday, waiting to take on children.

The Manitoba government closed most licensed daycares a week ago, in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 but told many of those centres to be ready to reopen for the children of essential healthcare employees.

A woman who works in the nursing department of a Winnipeg hospital said instead of being at work, she's at home with her three young children, despite being told she was an essential worker and would have daycare by Monday.

"Every day I've been calling," said the employee, who CBC News is not naming because she worries it could affect her employment.

"I've been getting the runaround from different workers at the switchboard at the government line saying, 'OK, you're not on the list, you are on the list, please call back tomorrow if you don't get a call.'"

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The province saidit has matched 85 per cent of front-line health-care workers with child care, but the woman said she and others in her hospital department are still waiting.

"I think they were not prepared with a number of front-line workers who actually depend on child care," she said.

Instead of being at work, she's bumped her vacation days up this week so she can still be paid, while others in her department are burning through their sick days, she said.

"Based on the information we have so far, there are still child care centres with spaces available to parents working in critical services," a spokesperson for the province said in an email to CBC News Friday night.

"There are currently a total of 1,221 child care spots being offered across Manitoba due to the generous response from our child care providers, and to date we havematched697 childrento spacesin geographic proximity to critical service workers."

The province said that number includes matching 543 health-care workers with child care, as well as 51 direct social services workers, 30 workers in corrections and justice, 27 law enforcement workers and 18 fire-paramedic workers.

"Of the1,218requests we have processed, many parents have indicated that they do not immediately require child care," the provincial spokesperson said.

"These parents have been asked to contact us when care is required" using the province's online request form, the spokesperson said.

Daycaresempty,laying off staff

One Winnipeg daycare operator says she's ready and waiting to take kids but hasn't heard from the province.

Mary Ellen Smith, the director at at Kids and Company, said she was prepared on Monday to welcome new children to the private daycare, but the province hasn't communicated with her.

"We're ready we've been ready since [last] Friday night with staff in place, hours scheduled, meals prepared, ready to receive 40 children. But we haven't seen that. So our building is three-quarters empty," she said.

Now, she has to lay off 20 of her 26 staff members, she said.

"Each day more emails come out, more confusing emails, in terms of what we are allowed to do," Smith said.

"It's very frustrating because we're here, ready to receive children, to provide services that are [so badly] needed by these families, and we're not getting information," she said.

It's the same case for Tara Mills, with Busy Nest Day Carein Morris, Man., about 60 kilometres south of Winnipeg.

That daycare normally has 59 children, but right now has five. Mills said she's been waiting all week for the province to provide her with a list of health-care workers who need child care.

"[It's been] disrespectful. The lack of communication is unsettling," she said, adding that she's also had to lay off staff.

Several other daycares in Manitoba confirmed with CBC News they are also in the same situation.

If families are having trouble getting child care, they should be going directly to employers,who can contact the Department of Families, according to Lanette Siragusa, chief nursing officer for Manitoba Shared Health.

"I would encourage if [health-care providers] are struggling with daycare, they let their employer know, and we make sure that we clear the way and make a path for that to happen," Siragusa said.

Manitoba health-care workers still struggling to find child care

4 years ago

Duration 1:50

The province of Manitoba is supposed to match front-line health-care workers who need child care with local facilities - but some say they're still experiencing a disconnect.