Waterloo region hospitals continue to face staffing shortages and more patients
Since July, area hospitals reported long wait times and bed closures in emergency departments
Hospitals in Waterloo region continue to face staff shortages, resulting in longer wait times and hospitals being at full capacity.
Premier Doug Ford addressed the state of the province's health care system during an announcement Wednesday in Stratford, saying the health-care system is still meeting the needs of Ontarians.
Since July, hospitals in Waterloo region and in Wellington County have reported long wait times, bed closures and heavy workloads in their emergency departments.
Ford said hospitals and emergency departments are feeling "increased pressures right now," but also said surgeries are happening at "nearly 90 per cent of the pre-pandemic rates."
He added nine out of 10 people going into emergency departments "are getting taken care of within the health parameters."
"We're throwing everything we possibly can at the health system," he said, adding the province is working to add more internationally trained nurses, while having already added 760 of them to the health care system.
Staff off sick due to COVID-19
A spokesperson for Cambridge Memorial Hospital said in an email to CBC News, the hospital is dealing with higher patient volumes, most coming into the emergency department "very sick."
He said 94 per cent of hospital beds are occupied, but due to staff shortages, "this is effectively 100 per cent".
"When this happens, admitted patients wait in the emergency department. This in turn takes emergency department clinicians away from those waiting to be seen as they now have to care for very sick patients," he said.
The number of staff who are sick or isolating due to COVID-19 has also increased in recent weeks, he said, noting the hospital currently has 33 staff off due to COVID-19.
"About four or five weeks ago we had less than 10," he said.
Grand River Hospital said it has 80 staff who are off sick or isolating due to COVID-19, while St. Mary's General Hospital said it has 21 staff sick or isolating.
About 25 hospitals in Ontario were also forced to scale back sections of their facilities during the previous long weekend due to staff shortages, according to the Ontario Nurses' Association.
The Assessment Centre will be closed for the weekend as staff are redirected to the hospital to help with staffing shortages. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurCMH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OurCMH</a> <a href="https://t.co/kiHjAakfQf">pic.twitter.com/kiHjAakfQf</a>
—@_CMHospitalThis upcoming weekend, some nearby rural hospitals will close their emergency departments temporarily again.
The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance said the emergency department at the Clinton Hospital will be closed all of Saturday and the emergency department at St. Marys Memorial Hospital in the town of St. Marys will close at 5 p.m. on Saturday until 7 a.m. Sunday.