'Not going to get better anytime soon': No end in sight for health care staffing shortage in Ottawa and Ontario
Nurses and hospital staff describe it as a dire situation.
While COVID positive cases aren't overwhelming the health care system like they did at the start of the pandemic, the virus is impacting the health care system in Ottawa and across Ontario in a different way now.
"This is not going to get better anytime soon, it's just going to get worse, and I think it's going to get worse quickly," said Ottawa nurse Christie Cowan.
Her candid words come as she experiences the shortage on the front lines. Cowan says hospital staff are rundown, overworked, and struggling to hold on.
"Moral is very low, nurses are tired, burnt out, almost everyone who I work with is on some type of medication for anxiety or depression and therapy," she said.
The issue – some are describing as a secondary effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. While hospitals aren't overwhelmed with COVID positive patients anymore, the impacts of the virus are still being felt.
"It's not COVID per-say because it's not sick COVID patients in the hospital, it's like the secondary impacts," said Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, a critical care physician with the Ottawa Hospital.
"We’re seeing closures of emergency departments, ICUs scaling back, struggling to get shifts covered; this is not a short-term solution issue, this is having meaningful and long-term solutions to build back our health care system better," said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases physician in Toronto.
It comes as another COVID wave in the province has crested according to several experts, but they also say this stage of the pandemic isn't over yet.
"COVID’s not going anywhere and these problem's we're seeing don't have easy solutions, unfortunately," said Dr. Kyeremanteng.
And so without answers to a dire problem, some workers are already making difficult decisions.
"Nurses don't need much reason anymore to leave the hospital, leave the bedside, and some leave the profession. With higher workloads, higher stress and less time off, it's happening faster and faster," said Cowan.
Now despite the health care system suffering with staffing issues – one message from health care professionals has not changed at all: if you are sick and need care do not hesitate to go to the hospital.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.