Hull Hospital operating rooms nearing full strength

A shortage of nursing staff at the Hull Hospital led to a significant decrease in the number of surgeries the hospital was able to do last year, causing many postponed operations and longer waiting lists.

Around 900 fewer surgeries were held in 2017 compared to 2016, said Guy Morissette, director of professional services for the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais.

This past summer, the combination of a number of nurses on sick leave and a dearth of unfilled positions made for a perfect storm, he said, with staff levels in operating rooms about one third of what they should be. 

"During the summer, we were really having difficulty, even for urgent surgeries," he said.

"We had to make decisions and concentrate on the major surgeries."

Effects on patients

Operating teams were left with too few hands to perform surgeries, leading to many patients having their procedures postponed. 

Major surgeries went ahead as planned, with elective and non-urgent operations being the first ones to be rescheduled, Morissette said. 

"People that needed surgery [had] their surgery," he said. "But [they were] done later than we would have liked."

We can look at increasing the number of surgeries we are able to do, but at this point, it's quite fragile.- Guy Morissette

The shortage has been hard on patients, who often make painstaking arrangements around their surgery date and recovery, Morissette said

"We know it's difficult for them because they usually have a date in two or three weeks time, so they make arrangements so they have support at home," he said.

"We understand that it's a lot of trouble."

Some improvement

Now, with staff returning to work from leave and with more positions filled, Morissette said the hospital is back to 90 per cent of its former capacity, with five operating teams working on most days.

However, he said it can still be a struggle to fill operating teams and that some days, only four teams are on the clock.  

"We have nurses coming back from their sick leave," he said.

"We can look at increasing the number of surgeries we are able to do but at this point, it's quite fragile."