Residents in Churchill, Manitoba, will have access to a one-week rotating ultrasound clinic during the week of January 19, 2026. The clinic gives people the ability to get routine diagnostic scans locally without having to fly or take a multi-day train journey to southern centres such as Winnipeg or Thompson.
The services will be offered at the Churchill Health Centre and include routine obstetric (prenatal), abdominal and pelvic scans. Local access matters in part because, effective Jan. 1, 2026, the Genetics and Metabolism Program will not accept referrals for patients with a positive maternal serum screen (MSS) for Down syndrome or trisomy 18 unless gestational age has been confirmed by ultrasound, increasing demand for dating ultrasounds (Doctors Manitoba).
The clinic is a joint effort by Shared Health Manitoba, the Churchill Health Centre and visiting sonographers from the Northern Medical Unit at the University of Manitoba. According to Doctors Manitoba, the updated provincial referral guidance for positive MSS results has increased the need for timely local appointments so patients can meet those screening-related timelines.
To get an appointment, residents must first have a requisition from their primary care provider. Once they have the requisition, appointments are typically booked by contacting the Medical Clinic reception at the Churchill Health Centre.
Historically, many residents relied on the Northern Patient Transportation Program (NPTP) to travel — often more than 1,000 kilometres — to Winnipeg for a brief, roughly 20-minute scan. Bringing visiting sonographers on-site for short rotations helps reduce that travel burden and clear backlogs of routine diagnostic imaging in the community.
