Hamilton Health Sciences ‘severely understaffed’ as COVID hospitalizations rise
Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is calling on staff to return from vacation amid severe" understaffing as hospitalizations with COVID grow.
HHS spokesperson Patrice Cloutier confirmed the health-care system sent a memo calling for staff to work more hours.
We are facing a staffing shortage due in large measure to both the holiday season and staff impacted by the virus," said the memo, obtained by The Spectator, from HHS' president and CEO released Dec. 30 at around 8 p.m.
Tonight, several of our acute-care units are severely understaffed," said Rob MacIsaac.
He asked part-time and occasional staff, those on vacation and others who can extend their hours to do so Thursday night and in the coming days."
This is an all-hands-on-deck situation," said the memo.
Hospitals have faced shortages for months in the pandemic due to illness and staff burnout.
Staff have been working exorbitant hours" without breaks, said the president of CUPE 7800, representing about 4,300 HHS workers.
Health-care workers have given their all during the last 21 months," said Dave Murphy. He called for better wages and working conditions.
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton also said Omicron is making staffing shortages more challenging." St. Joe's had 163 COVID-positive staff and physicians, said spokesperson Maria Hayes in an email Friday. The hospital system has a comprehensive plan" to address shortages, including by calling in retired workers and accepting staff offers to work extra, she added.
There were 170 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at both HHS and St. Joe's on Friday, up from 140 on Thursday. There were 19 COVID patients in ICU, compared to 17 on Thursday.
It's not clear how many of the patients were admitted mainly due to COVID versus for other causes while also having an active COVID case. The province has asked hospitals to update their reporting to reflect the two groups.
More hospital workers are also off isolating - 554 workers across the two hospital systems Friday, including 411 HHS staff and 143 at St. Joe's. There were a total of 447 reported Wednesday.
The city reached 4,791 active cases on Friday, after reporting 818 new cases. The seven-day daily average is now 613, up from 537 reported by public health on Thursday. No new deaths were reported.
Hamilton reported 31 outbreaks, including a new one at St. Joe's Charlton campus in Clinical Teaching Unit Central with four cases. A new suspected outbreak was declared at Adelaide's Residence residential-care facility with three cases. Four outbreaks were declared over.
The full number of outbreaks is not known after public health stopped declaring new outbreaks in workplaces and the community as of Dec. 23 to focus on high-risk settings.
Maria Iqbal covers aging issues for The Spectator. miqbal@thespec.com