The Brant Community Healthcare System is “facing significant staffing and service pressures”, according to a press release issued Friday.
Long wait times in hospital emergency departments and impacted services are likely to continue as a seventh wave of COVID-19 sweeps across the country, coupled with a shortage of physicians and healthcare workers.
“We are incredibly proud of our team at Brant Community Healthcare System and grateful for their dedication over the last several extraordinary years,” said BCHS president and CEO Dr. David McNeil. “We recognize the enormous strain on the entire healthcare system right now and are doing everything we can to support both our staff and our community as we navigate this complicated issue.”
McNeil said BCHS is working closely with regional partners and the province to mitigate these pressures and ensure the continuity of care for patients and the community.
An increase in the demand and acuity among patients seeking treatment at Brantford General Hospital, physicians in self-isolation due to COVID-19, and a large number of vacant frontline care provider positions are factors that affect wait times and services.
Additionally, coronavirus outbreaks in the community have limited the ability to discharge hospital patients who are transitioning to long-term care or assisted living settings, said the release.
The BCHS reminds community members that visiting the urgent care center at the Willet in Paris, consulting your family doctor if your issue can wait 24 hours or longer, or contacting Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 are options to consider if you are not experiencing a medical emergency.
Meanwhile, an Ontario nurses’ union warned Friday of “troubled reports” from members about the expected closure of beds and units in as many as 14 hospitals across the province, ahead of a holiday weekend.
“We are outraged and alarmed about the growing impact the nursing shortage is having on patient care,” Ontario Nurses’ Association president Cathryn Hoy said in a written statement that did not specify which hospitals or units could be affected.
Hoy said members of her union are dealing with illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, workplace violence, exhaustion and COVID-19 risk during a seventh wave of infections with few public health measures in place to mitigate spread.
Staffing-related pressures in recent weeks resulted in temporary emergency room closures – some for several days – in rural communities such as Perth, Clinton and Wingham.
A downtown Toronto hospital narrowly avoided having to close its emergency room last weekend by redeploying staff across several different units, including medical residents, personal support workers and nursing students.
– With files from The Canadian Press