Manitoba's health system has 180 bargaining units. B.C has four.

"That cannot be efficient," Morden-Winkler MLA and Health Minister Cameron Friesen says.

Facing an overly complex healthcare system, Friesen is bringing major changes designed to "put the patient at the centre to get better care, sooner."

The latest changes announced will restructure health sector bargaining units "by the work people do, not where they do it and create flexibility to help our health-care system become more focused on the needs of patients."

The Health Sector Bargaining Unit Review Act, the regulation identifies the five regional health authorities (RHAs) as employers and establishes Shared Health as a provincewide employer. Under the act, seven groups are designated for the purposes of collective bargaining including nurses, physicians, medical residents, physician assistants and clinical assistants, professionals/technical/paramedical, facility support and community support.

"These regulations more clearly establish the definitions for facility support and community support and are in line with our government’s goals of better continuity of care, higher quality care and more efficient use of resources," Friesen says.