Nurses sleeping at Montreal-area hospital if they work two 16-hour shifts
Private agency nurses who are desperately needed to fill shifts at a hospital near Montreal are sleeping at the hospital between two 16-hour shifts because they live far away and the hospital can't recruit nurses who live in the area.
Local health authorities also help pay for the mileage of any out-of-region nurses.
It's not a new problem in the West-Monteregie region, the local health board said.
In the summer of 2022, it resorted to offering nurses free accommodation under certain conditions if they agreed to take on shifts at Hopital du Suroit in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, when the impact of COVID-19 on staffing was still acute.
"The placement agencies we work with through the Centre d'acquisition gouvernementale were unable to meet our needs in terms of nursing staff," the West-Monteregie health board explained in an email.
To fill the huge gaps in staffing, incentives were created for private nurses and public sector nurses to help persuade them to agree to travel and also agree to work two double shifts of 16 hours in a row.
They include having their mileage repaid at a rate of $0.54/km if the nurses live more than 50 kilometres away from the hospital and free accommodation in hospital rooms set aside for this purpose.
"This does not change the hospitalization capacity," the West-Monteregie health board emphasized.
The interim president of the FIQ Monteregie-West union that represents nurses in the region said the health board is doing what it has to do to provide health care services to the population.
"It's the lesser evil. Anyone who works 16 hours in a row needs rest," said Maxime Laforge-Steben in an interview. But he said it's a symptom of a much deeper problem in the healthcare system, a problem he lays at the feet of the Quebec government.
"For us, the solution is to improve the quality of the working conditions quickly, and the salaries and that's why negotiations (with the government) are underway."
"The private nurses that do the 16 hours have a better salary than those in the public system," he said.
Fewer than 50 nurses have taken advantage of the incentives, the health board reported, but every extra nurse helps, it said.
Closing a unit in Suroit means the loss of 32 hospital beds, which affects patient care and creates critical overcrowding in the emergency room.
The challenges recruiting nurse, public or private are blamed in part on the remote locations of the hospitals located southwest of Montreal, including Hopital Barrie-Memorial in Ormstown.
"Attractiveness remains a major challenge. Many regions of Quebec share this challenge," the health board said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
1 person killed and 23 injured in a bus crash in northern Maryland, police say
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
William Nylander stood in a solemn visitors locker room at TD Garden just before midnight. The Maple Leafs had battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss. Nylander's message was emphatic.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.