Ford calls for more federal funding as local, Ontario hospitals continue to face closures

As Premier Doug Ford called for more healthcare funding from the federal government at an announcement in Stratford, several hospitals in the surrounding area continued to deal with staff shortages and temporary closures.

Ford was at auto part supplier Dyna Mig Wednesday morning to announce the province’s plan to fill 500 auto manufacturing jobs in the province. A total of $5 million will go to helping youth, women and other underrepresented groups in the sector.

Questions following the announcement were dominated by another labour shortage, as the premier was asked about what his government is doing to stop emergency departments and operating rooms from temporarily closing.

“We’re doing everything we can,” said Ford. “We’re pushing the College of Nurses to expedite the internationally trained nurses. We ended up getting 760 through the system, but that’s not enough. We need a lot more. We added 3,100 beds to the system. We hired 10,500 workers since the start of the pandemic.”

Ford is also calling on the federal government once again for financial support.

“It's not sustainable that the federal government is giving us 22 per cent. We're paying 78 per cent. And that's across the country. Unacceptable,” said Ford. “We’re going to continue asking the federal government to step up and do their fair share. There’s never been a more important time to do so.”

Deborah Wiseman, vice-president of partnerships and chief nursing executive with the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) said the closures are largely related to absenteeism or staffing-related challenges both in nursing and physicians.

The regular closures of emergency rooms in southwest Ontario has been ongoing since April.

Wiseman said the more recent closures are certainly impacted by another wave of COVID-19.

“People are electing to make changes. That shift in workforce is putting an incredible pressures, not just at HPHA, across Ontario" said Wiseman.

A survey of Ontario’s registered practical nurses found that half of their members are considering leaving their jobs, and they say close to 80 per cent are experiencing moral distress

“That’s where they experience a moral sense of failure at not being able to provide care the way they were taught … or in the worst cases missed something,” said Dianne Martin, CEO of the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (WeRPN).

They say staff retention is the single biggest issue plaguing the healthcare system.

“I sort of see it as a vicious cycle. The more we lose nurses, the more we ask nurses to do in ways that are impossible, and cause them to leave, which makes the situation worse again,” said Martin.

According to the Huron Perth Health Alliance, there is little evidence to suggest the situation will improve in the near future, meaning more ER closures can be expected.

“The challenges that we face currently are not going to go away quickly so we can expect and anticipate ongoing healthcare challenges in a system that is this under pressure,” said Wiseman.

LOCAL HOSPITALS FEELING THE CRUNCH

On the same day Ford was in Stratford, the HPHA announced further temporary emergency department closures at nearby hospitals in St. Marys and Clinton.

“Increased demands on the healthcare system, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, are leading to staffing vacancies. These pressures will continue throughout the summer,” a media release from the HPHA said.

The ER in in the town of St. Marys has been sporadically closed or on adjusted hours since April.

Meanwhile, the emergency rooms in Wingham, Listowel, Chesley, Clinton and Seaforth have all been staggering their temporary closures since mid-July.

Also in mid-July, the Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest announced it would be adjusting its overnight ER hours due to staffing shortages and COVID-19 outbreaks.

In Waterloo Region, Grand River Hospital has been forced to close one of its operating rooms, and postpone some elective surgeries because 120 staff members were off with COVID-19.

The average ER wait time at Grand River is 2.7 hours, 2.9 hoursat Cambridge Memorial Hospital, two hoursat St. Mary’s General Hospital, and 2.8 hoursat Guelph General. The provincial average wait time is two hours and six minutes.

Over the long weekend, 25 hospitals across Ontario were forced to make changes to their operations.

With files from CTV Toronto