Skip to main content

ER nurses 'extremely concerned' about lack of staff in Quebec hospitals

Share
MONTREAL -

Nurses working in Quebec's emergency rooms are warning about the dangerously low number of qualified personnel in the department.

It's a situation that is causing numerous service disruptions across the province, they argue.

In a press release published Wednesday, Quebec's association of emergency room nurses (AIIUQ) says it is "extremely concerned" about the lack of staff and its consequences "for institutions, care teams and patients."

The association notes the emergency room at Gatineau Hospital has been partially closed and operating at reduced capacity since June.

Services have also been affected at Suroît Hospital, the Coaticook Hospital, the Centre multiservices de santé et de services sociaux de Port-Cartier and Senneterre Hospital.

Emergency room nurses say they are also concerned that the situation will worsen in the coming weeks due to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to AIIUQ, the shortage of specialized nurses is having six major impacts:

  1. the integration of unqualified personnel in emergency departments;
  2. an increase in nurse-patient ratios;
  3. a reduction in care activities;
  4. a reduction in continuing education for nurses;
  5. an increase in mandatory overtime;
  6. and an exodus of nurses to other sectors or private practice.

Nevertheless, the AIIUQ says it welcomes the government's "political will" to tackle the issue of labour shortages in the network.

However, it would like to see "concrete commitments" to reduce mandatory overtime and improve the difficult work-life balance of nurses.

The association says it believes the government's proposed one-time financial bonuses will only have a short-term effect on the problem and will not solve the greater issue.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 29, 2021. 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING

BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants

Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.

Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence

During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.

Stay Connected