Ontario will need public health measures to protect hospitals from patient surges because of staffing shortages, science table says
Ontario will need to use public health measures to “mitigate influxes” of critically ill patients over the coming months and protect a healthcare system that is now struggling with “worsening staffing shortages” and “worker burnout,” a new report prepared by the group of scientists advising the Ford government argues.
The report from Ontario’s Science Table says that while the province has been able to accommodate past patient surges without having to turn to a triage system to ration critical care resources, it likely now “lacks the capacity” to accommodate the sort of uptick in hospitalizations it saw during the third wave of the pandemic this past spring when as many as 940 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units simultaneously.
The scientists say that in addition to a “shortage of critical care nurses and staff” that has worsened through successive waves of the pandemic, hospitals may be less able to achieve “significant reductions in surgical and procedural activity” amid a “growing care-deficit.”
They also say that the “complete absence of influenza transmission” during the 2020-2021 flu season is unlikely to repeat itself this year, lending additional “uncertainty” to the healthcare system’s ability to withstand future waves of the pandemic.
“Going forward, it may be more challenging for the critical care system to rapidly increase capacity as it did during the height of Wave 3 due to staffing shortages, healthcare worker burnout, and a desire to preserve non-COVID clinical activity,” the report states. “It is imperative that public health measures that help to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 as well as other infectious diseases with the potential to burden the healthcare system, including influenza, are in place over the coming months.”
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told reporters on Monday that he doesn’t anticipate introducing additional health measures at this time, even in the face of increasing concerns about the Omricon variant.
But the report from the science table says that it is “imperative” that public health measures that help to reduce transmission of COVID-19 be put in place for the winter months.
The scientists argue that there is now a “growing staffing shortages in critical care units” where nurse vacancy rates now exceed nine percent, up from 5.8 per cent prior to the pandemic.
They also say that Ontario hospitals could risk further exacerbating the staffing shortages by turning to some of the same strategies utilized during previous waves, such as giving nurses additional patients and redeploying acute care nurses from other areas of the hospital.
“Burnout has likely contributed to this staffing shortage,” the report notes. “Nurses in particular have been at increased risk for burnout during the pandemic for a variety of reasons, including heighted anxiety about risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 at work, an increase in patient acuity, increasing demands for overtime, reassignment to unfamiliar roles, and sustained exposure to the moral distress associated with caring for patients with COVID-19.”
The science table says that 9,096 Ontarians with COVID-19 were admitted to intensive care units between March 20, 2020 and October 31, 2021. They say that at the peak of the third wave the number of ICU patients on ventilators was at 180 per cent of the pre-pandemic norm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Case against ex-Mountie charged with helping China can go ahead in Quebec, judge says
A Quebec court judge has ruled that the case against a former RCMP officer charged with helping China conduct foreign interference can go ahead in the province.
Steve Albini, legendary producer for Nirvana, the Pixies and an alternative rock pioneer, dies at 61
Steve Albini, an alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more, has died. He was 61.
Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, will plead guilty in betting case
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly US$17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.