Around 2,000 Toronto-area health-care workers off job due to COVID-19
There are some 2,000 health care workers off the job today in the Toronto area thanks to COVID-19 — and perhaps more — according to a survey of hospitals by CTV News —as health-care workers and administrators ask people to mask up and use caution.
Hospitals say they have contingency plans for losing nurses, doctors and other staff as they test positive or self-isolate thanks to close contacts, but it has been difficult for those who remain. This has raised questions about the health -are system’s ability to scale up should the sixth wave be comparable to what the province went through earlier this year.
“It makes staffing units and areas much harder and it means that staff who are already tired after more than two years of working through the pandemic are taking more shifts or taking on a larger caseload,” said Gillian Howard, a spokesperson for the University Health Network.
“The health-care system needs people to immunize with the vaccines, continue to mask, and continue to be cautious about gathering in large groups,” Howard said.
In Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, 137 workers are away, the hospital said. In Scarborough Health Network, 189 are at home. In Unity Health, 320 are absent. At University Health Network, there are 465 people off work, with 405 returning in seven days, the hospital said.
Toronto’s SickKids Hospital has 303 COVID-related staff absences, with 240 staff that have tested positive and 63 self-isolating due to an exposure.
At Hamilton Health Sciences, the only network CTV News Toronto asked that provided day-by-day numbers, 575 were self-isolating, up 77 from the day before, which was up 72 from the day before that.
Altogether that is 1,989 workers, not including several hospitals or hospital networks that didn't respond to queries from CTV News, including William Osler Health Network.
“If you know anyone in health care, you’ll hear very familiar stories that we heard only a couple of months ago with people being out because they are infected or exposed to COVID-19, and some significant pressures on staffing,” said infectious diseases specialist Dr Isaac Bogoch.
“Just because this wave may not shape up to be the same size as the wave we just had, we’re still in the midst of one, and it’s still impacting the health care system and those working in it and obviously you should still take measures to protect yourself and those around you,” he said.
While some hospitals have announced outbreaks, it is possible that health-care workers are picking up the infection from out in the community, including schools, said emergency room physician Dr. Lisa Salamon-Switzman.
“When everyone is out and about, and kids in schools are not wearing masks, that puts their parents at risk of not being able to work,” she said in an interview.
“You can imagine in my department the group of physicians, if our kids get COVID we can’t work. And even a few of us not being able to work causes a huge crisis in our hospital,” she said.
She said the provincial government’s projections that the health care system can scale up to absorb a sixth wave may not be taking into account losing staff members to self-isolation.
“If all of a sudden nurses get sick or they can’t go to work, that’s a big deal. A bed is just a piece of furniture. You can have the beds, but if you don’t have the staff to take care of the people in those beds, it’s only a mattress,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.