More vacant positions than working nurses at GTA hospital, internal report shows
There are more vacant positions for nurses than nurses working at one GTA emergency room, according to an internal report obtained by CTV News Investigates — a sign of how dire staff shortages are "deteriorating" a medical system already on edge.
A consultants report for Lakeridge Health calls the situation at its Oshawa hospital a “crisis” as it lays out how a 55 per cent vacancy rate is one of several factors contributing to large wait times for patients.
“The Emergency Department is in crisis and struggling with throughput, staffing, low morale, misaligned incentives, and EMS offloads,” the report says.
“These challenges are interrelated and are compounded and in part caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent labour shortages,” it says.
Lakeridge’s Chief of Emergency, Dr. Michael Howlett, agreed that what is happening is a “crisis” — one reason he said the hospital network reached out for outside help.
“Because it’s such a crisis we need to find our solutions very quickly,” Dr. Howlett said.
“Normally we would internally try to work on solutions and try to improve our efficiencies ourselves, but realistically the government is not coming in on a stallion to fix everything for us, so we have to internally get better at what we do to maintain our level of service.”
He said that the hospital is far from the only one feeling the shortage of nurses who, because of stress and overwork, are choosing to retire or leave at faster rates than they can be hired or trained.
“COVID-19 has made this more obvious but it’s not the cause. It’s the tip of a very large iceberg, and this fall we’re seeing an increased number of children with viral illnesses. This is going to create more stress in our system and we are not really prepared,” he said.
The report is by Dr. Chris Flanders of US-based X32 Healthcare and is based on a site visit on Sept 26. X32 did not return an e-mailed request for comment.
It says the hospital’s goal of time between arrival and meeting a doctor is 30 minutes, but they are seeing 125 minutes on average — more than four times as long.
“This is a situation that is deteriorating and it appears at Lakeridge to be deteriorating rapidly,” said Mike Hurley, the regional vice-president of the Canadian University of Public Employees, which represents some hospital workers.
“It’s extremely troubling that there’s a majority of vacancies. More vacancies for nurses than there are nurses,” he said.
On Monday, Lakeridge’s Oshawa location reported a wait time of one hour. The wait time of other hospitals in the Lakeridge network were much higher: five hours in Ajax-Pickering and Port Perry.
Ontario’s unions have claimed there needs to be tens of thousands of workers hired to deal with shortages across the system prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, more nurses are leaving, retiring, or going south of the border. A lack of staff is one reason why some emergency wards and rooms have temporarily closed.
“Lakeridge is bad. Really bad,” Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition, said. “But that is indicative of what’s happening in large hospitals all across Ontario. We’ve never seen anything like it. It is really serious,” she said.
Ontario’s government has said that it plans to hire 6,000 workers, provide incentives to stay, and train internationally qualified nurses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.