The lack of staff and the increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in hospitals in the province are putting enormous pressure on health services, which will unfortunately be reduced in several regions during the weekend.
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Several employees of the Saint-Eustache Hospital interviewed by TVA Nouvelles confirmed the dire need for personnel in the health network.
“The important thing is to stay positive, to look at the light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to understand that there are problems in the health system, that’s for sure”, explains one of the people. questioned.
“We are in dire straits, we work overtime, they call us all the time. I don’t know what time I’m going to go out, if there are people who are away this evening, ”explains another employee.
The Suroît hospital, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, which reached a breaking point earlier this week by temporarily closing the ambulatory emergency services from midnight Wednesday to 4 p.m. Thursday, set up a new unit with twenty beds to try to reduce the pressure on the emergency department.
Mélanie Gignac, president of the Union of healthcare professionals of Montérégie-Ouest, affirms that the night went well, despite everything.
“But if it had gone so wonderfully well, the ER manager wouldn’t have come home at 5 am to play nurse,” she explains.
She also mentions that managers and executives have no other choice to lend a hand and provide care, a sign that the hospital has reached a breaking point.
In the Laurentians, in particular, all emergencies should be avoided. This is not a unique case, but several hospitals are reaching their breaking point.
In Estrie, the lack of personnel risks complicating the service offer in outpatient care. The Coaticook hospital emergency department will experience partial closures. It will be open between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on September 17, 18 and 19, and from 8 a.m. to midnight on September 20.
“The Argyll and Youville CHSLDs in Sherbrooke are also greatly impacted this weekend and will benefit from special support from nursing resources in the territory”, we can read on the CIUSSS website.
de l’Estrie – CHUS.
On the side of the CHUL of Quebec, emergencies are “particularly fragile”, according to information received by TVA Nouvelles. We are also anticipating a big day on Saturday. The other five emergencies at the CHU de Québec are also in high demand.
Several stakeholders in the health sector also fear the deadline of October 15, the date on which all employees of the health system must be vaccinated against COVID-19, particularly fearing that the staff shortage will be exacerbated.
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