Jorge Maria
Pontiac June 29, 2021
After the sudden closing of the Gatineau Hospital ER last Saturday evening, Centre intégré de Santé et de Services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) issued a press release early Monday stating that. . .
the closure would be extended for 48 hours until Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Later in the day, Josée Filion, general director of CISSSO, hosted a press conference explaining the extension. Citing a staffing shortage over the next 24 hours, she said the ER would not provide the quality service required for their patients. Ambulances will continue to be re-directed to Hull and Papineau hospitals, and CISSSO has asked that citizens driving to the ER also go to one of those two hospitals.
Staffing has been an ongoing issue, with health practitioners quitting in recent days. Serge Gauvreau, deputy director of CISSSO, said that over the next 24 hours the ER would be short-staffed by 20.
While the hospital is expected to reopen on Wednesday, it is unlikely to reopen at full capacity and will undergo a phased approach to fully reopening over the coming weeks.
“We understand people’s concern and we are not proud of the situation,” Filion said. She went onto thank all of the teams involved and working during this difficult time.
This is not the first time hospitals in the area have faced staffing issues. There is a perceived brain-drain as nurses continue to seek opportunities on the Ontario side of the border. When asked what would be different this time, both Filion and Gauvreau said multiple steps will be taken to address problems. Measures include looking at compensation, prioritizing job shadowing for interns in more specialized units and discussions with nurses that have quit.
While Gatineau continues to fix its staffing shortages, hospitals such as Hull have added more doctors to meet increased demand. Recently, Hull had five doctors during the day and two at night to deal with overflow, Gauvreau said.
Addressing the concerns of citizens, he added, “Have faith in us; we are working hard to address to fix the problem.”
On Tuesday morning, the opposition Liberals held a press conference to address the issue.
