Ride safely or don’t ride at all, Shared Health warns

Pediatric physicians in Manitoba are reminding parents to ensure their children are riding safely on all-terrain vehicles this summer after seeing an increase in related injuries.

Since mid-March, the Children’s emergency department at Health Sciences Centre has treated 20 underage patients for injuries including fractures to the skull, spine, pelvis and jaw, all stemming from ATV-related incidents.

Sixteen of the 20 patients may have not been wearing a helmet at the time of their injury.

During the 2021/22 fiscal year 176 children and youth were treated for related injuries, a statement from Shared Health said. Of those, one third were serious enough to require hospital admission.

In Manitoba, children under the age of 14 can’t operate ATVs unless supervised, accompanied or authorized by a parent or adult. All riders must wear properly fastened safety helmets.

Emergency and urgent care wait times are modestly improving month over month, Shared Health said. Monthly overall median wait times sat at 2.67 hours in April, while the longest waits were, on average, 7.23 hours.

2:27 Number of patients leaving Winnipeg ERs without being seen has tripled: Shared Health report

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