The province’s largest hospital has been facing chronic overcapacity issues, Eastern Health said in a statement on Friday. For nearly three months — from June 20 through Thursday — the Health Sciences Center at St. John’s has continuously been at double overcapacity, according to a statement from Eastern Health. The President of the Registered Nurses Union, Yvette Coffey, says that when single overcapacity is called, each unit in the hospital must take an extra patient from the emergency room, even if there are not enough beds or staff. Coffey says it’s a condition that often results in patients being left on stretchers in hospital hallways. “With double overcapacity, which seems to be the norm these days, each unit has received two patients, [regardless] about whether or not they have nursing staff to care for those patients or whether or not they have bed spaces,” Coffey said. Nurse Niki Parsons spoke publicly about the state of the healthcare system earlier this year. She wanted patients to know that nurses are trying the best they can with the resources they have. (NL Registered Nurses Association) Between March and June of this year, the Health Sciences Center was overcapacity 25 times and double overcapacity 16 times, Eastern Health said. Prior to March, overcapacity occurred at the hospital an average of four times a week. In a statement to CBC News, Eastern Health also revealed that starting in March, St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital in St. John’s was at single overcapacity 72 times and double overcapacity 27 times, compared to an average of three times a month before March. .
Emergency in the emergency room
The health authority appealed for help earlier this week because it only had half the nursing staff it needed to staff the Health Sciences Centre’s emergency room this weekend. In an internal memo sent to all staff Thursday, obtained by CBC News, Eastern Health said it had an “immediate need” for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and personal care attendants to work extra shifts or overtime in the department from September 16 to 18. Debbie Walsh, vice president and chief nursing officer at Eastern Health, called the memo a “volunteer call” and said 14 registered nurses are needed to work the day shift in the Health Sciences emergency room, while 12 are needed for the night shift. . The Health Sciences Center at St. John’s was at double overcapacity all summer from June 20th to September 15th. (Paul Daly/CBC) “We started with eight, now we’re down to almost 14 – that’s for the day shift. And for the night shift, we were six employees…and the numbers are very similar for Sunday,” Walsh said Friday. afternoon. “Our staff will stabilize for this weekend,” he said. The emergency department staffing problem follows an Eastern Health statement last Saturday where the health authority said it was facing “unprecedented pressures resulting in long waiting times for patients”. He also asked patients who were not experiencing medical emergencies to stay away from subway emergency rooms. Walsh says people should try alternatives like 811, clinics or their family doctor before visiting the emergency room.
‘Breaking point’
Meanwhile, Coffey says she doesn’t think the health care crisis can get any worse. He says of the 54 nursing positions in the Health Sciences Center’s emergency department, 19 are vacant. “It just hit a tipping point,” Coffey said. Coffey says “outside the box ideas” are needed to solve the staffing crisis. The call for staff to help out in the emergency department, he said, was an idea discussed by a committee working to fix problems in the Health Sciences Center’s emergency room. Yvette Coffey is the president of the Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland and Labrador. (CBC) Oftentimes, staff need specialized training to work in emergency rooms, and Coffey says the nurses answering the call this weekend without that training wouldn’t be caring for patients in a medical emergency. Instead, he said, they would care for patients stuck in the emergency room waiting to be admitted to another hospital unit. Coffey said that each day about 20 to 30 patients are admitted to either the Health Sciences Center or St. John’s Hospital. Clare’s without beds available due to lack of nursing staff. “I understand that these registered nurses, LPNs, PCAs would be practicing as part of their practice and taking care of these admitted patients who would normally be on the floor anyway,” Coffey said. “That would allow the emergency room nurses to do what they need to do.”
NAPE was not consulted
NAPE represents many licensed practical nurses, personal care attendants and paramedics in the health care system, and union president Jerry Earle said asking staff to fill emergency room shifts is another sign the system is in crisis. “It’s not somewhere you can walk in on a Saturday morning and say, I’m here to do a shift… Emergency services [are] extremely demanding,” Earl said. “You don’t know what’s coming through that door.” Earle said he heard about the call for staff from a family member and Eastern Health did not consult with them about the shortage. “This is extremely concerning,” Earle said. “We could have helped them in this, if they had come to us.” Jerry Earle is president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Union of Public and Private Employees, the largest public sector union in the province. It represents licensed practical nurses and personal care attendants, which Eastern Health also had an “immediate need” for this weekend. (Terry Roberts/CBC) Earle said a more proactive approach is needed. “We’re running out of Band-Aids. We’ve got a health care system now that’s bleeding, and all we’re doing is just going around the country, putting on Band-Aids.”
The PCs say they won’t play politics
Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative leader David Brazil calls the situation “alarming” and calls for immediate solutions. “We’re at a critical crisis now where the tertiary care center here is at a point now where they’re actually reaching out to anyone who might be available to come and help…That tells you what’s going on in this health-care crisis.” , Brazil said. Tom Osborne is Newfoundland and Labrador’s newest health minister. It promises more incentives to fix staff shortages. (Patrick Butler/Radio-Canada) Brazil wants to see a collaborative approach between the provincial government and health professionals and consider solutions such as bringing back retired health workers for a limited time or speeding up licensing processes for newcomers. “This is one of the times we will not play politics. What we will play is what is in the best interest of the people of this province,” Brazil said. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Tom Osborne believes Eastern Health’s call for help was “proactive” and is promising more incentives to recruit and retain health workers. “Quite simply, we need to do a better job of recruiting and retention,” Osborne said. “Healthcare professionals across the province have been dealing with the pandemic for the last two years, the cyberattack, they’re working very, very hard and they need extra people working side by side with them to lighten the load, lift the load and we’re focused on we’re doing this.” Read more from Newfoundland and Labrador
