Plans to upgrade the operating rooms at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach have been set back. Dating back to at least 2010, various people, including then opposition MLA Kelvin Goertzen, have been pressing for upgrades. Kathy McPhail, Chief Executive Officer for Southern Health, says a lot of preparatory work for this project. But she adds it's unfair to ask the province for money for this project at a time when the health care budget is under a lot of pressure.

"I think it would be fair to say that we've done a lot of the groundwork for this, as a province we have, it isn't just our region, as a province. I think when there's a little less pressure economically and there's a little more capital money to invest, I think we'll begin to start to see some investment back into acute care."

McPhail says she understands the Health Minister's plight, with the health budget consuming almost half of all provincial revenues, so it's time to be reasonable in terms of asking for money. She notes the operating rooms at Bethesda are not the best in the region but they are also not the worst and people are still able to receive good care there.