The Manitoba NDP has announced a plan to "fix rural healthcare" that they'll put into place if elected this fall.

The plan includes five steps to try and address some of the biggest issues facing healthcare in rural communities across the province.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew says healthcare is the biggest challenge facing rural communities right now.

"I think everyone in rural Manitoba has been so concerned with the increase in closures and the cuts. We've heard time and time again from people who say, we want healthcare in our communities, and we need better than what we're getting right now."

The plan includes a large focus on rural healthcare recruitment says Kinew.

"We know so many communities are being forced to step in and offer these resources directly, so we think the province should get involved."

On top of recruitment, the NDP is also committing to reducing rural ambulance wait times, increasing nurses and other allied health professionals, expanding access to specialists, and improving rural senior care.

The NDP also plans on reintroducing a grant program that would give medical students $12,000 in each of their four years of medical school. In return, those students would have to work for six months in an underserviced part of the province for each year they received the grant.