With COVID in decline in Hamilton, redeployed hospital staff return to home units

Staff in Hamilton hospitals redeployed to help address the COVID surge are now returning to their home units, hopefully for good.

Hospitals previously ramped down non-urgent surgeries and procedures to build capacity in acute and critical care. As COVID continues to decline, hospitals are resuming normal operations.

As of July 8, almost 260 staff returned to their regular units at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), according to spokesperson Wendy Stewart. Another 20 are set to return in the next week.

Seventeen staff will remain redeployed for now, Stewart said in an email on Friday.

Most of the staff who haven't yet returned are working in the ICUs at Hamilton General Hospital and Juravinski Hospital. While HHS hopes the returning staff will be back permanently, our teams are prepared to shift should there be a fourth wave," Stewart said.

Processes have been established to ensure a smooth transition of staff should the need arise," she added. We hope that the continuing decline in COVID cases and the increasing vaccination levels will mean that this will not need to happen."

At St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 51 out of 127 operating room staff were moved to other units, excluding day surgery and recovery staff, said spokesperson Maria Hayes in an email. Redeployed staff included those who normally worked on the Charlton and King campuses, plus endoscopy staff.

About 11 per cent have not yet returned, said Hayes, noting the hospital is continuously" evaluating the situation and hopes hope to have staff return as soon as possible."

While St. Joe's also hopes to keep staff in their normal areas upon return, Hayes added the hospital is prepared to pivot should the patient volumes and need arise."

Maria Iqbal is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator covering aging. Reach her via email: miqbal@thespec.com