Queensway Carleton Hospital to 'slow down' some services to address COVID staffing shortage

The main entrance of Ottawa's Queensway Carleton Hospital in seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Ottawa)

The Queensway Carleton Hospital says it needs to "slow down some services" and limit surgeries this week as it deals with a temporary staffing shortage caused by COVID-19.

The hospital in Ottawa's west end is now in an "Interior Code Orange', meaning staff can be called in on days off or asked to work 16-hour shifts.

"We’re hoping that it’s very short lived, we’re already seeing many staff that are getting done their isolation period and being able to get back to work so next week looks better," said Lianne Learmonth, Clinical Director at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. "It’s just our crunch right now for the next three or four days."

The hospital said Wednesday evening that more than 40 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, adding the positive cases are "primarily from household contact, creating staffing shortages in several areas."

Now, the hospital will slow down services in Ambulatory Care, therapeutic services, Endo/Cysto, and other areas to redeploy staff.

"This week the operating room is currently performing only emergency and cancer surgeries and will reassess next week’s plans on Monday," said the Queensway Carleton Hospital in a statement Wednesday evening.

As of Wednesday, the hospital was at 107 per cent occupancy, with a 141 per cent occupancy in medicine and 150 patients in isolation precautions.

“We appreciate how difficult this is for our patients whose care needs may be delayed.  Please know, this isn’t a decision that was made lightly," said Kerry Cook, Vice-President of Patient Care and Interim Chief Nursing Executive.

"The team is working very hard to provide the highest quality care, and to return to normal operations as soon as we can."

The Queensway Carleton Hospital is asking people to save the emergency department for emergencies, and consider visiting family doctors and walk-in clinics for care.

If you do visit the emergency room, the hospital says prepare for "longer-than-usual waits."

Ottawa Public Health is reporting a COVID-19 outbreak in the D3 Unit. The hospital tells CTV News Ottawa the outbreak is in the Alternate Care Unit.

"We currently have seven staff who tested positive based on the outbreak unit and 18 patients," said Learmonth.

The hospital is testing staff before they come to work.

"As next week comes on and gets closer we’ll look at that as a day-by-day basis whether we need to slow down some more or not," said Learmonth.

News of the Queensway Carleton Hospital scaling back procedures due to staffing shortages comes as some nurses report low morale at the hospital.

"Definitely the most difficult time in this profession. I've never felt so exhausted and burn out in my life," said a nurse, who asked to remain anonymous.

"It was already bad before this and this has really exacerbated it."

The nurse tells CTV News Ottawa it feels like the third wave of the pandemic back in the spring, with nurses and all health care workers feeling drained.

"It’s pretty remarkable that despite how tired everyone is, people are still coming in for extra shifts or staying 16 hours just to help out. Even though we’re drained, we know that this is what we need to do to provide care to our patients."

Despite feeling exhausted, the nurse said they feel a sense of duty to the hospital and patients.

"I signed up for this profession, but i didn’t sign up for these conditions. We are in the middle of a pandemic and things are bad and I keep just reminding myself that we will get through this someday."

The Ottawa Hospital told CTV News Ottawa on Wednesday they are not experiencing a staffing shortage right now.

"The Ottawa Hospital has a staffing plan in place, in line with Ministry of Health recommendations, that allows us to balance staffing levels while ensuring the safety of everyone in hospital," the statement said. "Staff who have a known exposure to COVID-19 follow a process through Occupational Health and Wellness that assesses their risk and the next steps they should take. For example, if staff have an exposure but are asymptomatic, they may be placed on work self-isolation. This means they are under several precautions when coming into work, such as regular temperature checks, wearing PPE at all times, taking breaks alone, and limiting their work to one area."

The Montfort Hospital tells CTV News Ottawa that it has human resources challenges, "that predate the pandemic."

"We see that the situation is fragile, currently, and that even a few employees in isolation can have an impact on services to the population. The situation at the Queensway Carleton Hospital can certainly happen in other hospitals, including at Montfort," said the Montfort Hospital on Thursday.

"We are exploring various options at this time, following a recommendation from Ontario Health not to resume our usual volumes after the holiday reductions. The number one goal is always to ensure the safety of all; our staff and our patients."

Back at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, Learmonth said despite all the challenges, "Our team is just amazing."

"We’ve been going at this a long time and every time we get a new crisis come along they continue to surprise me by showing their dedication to commitment and coming to help when we need them and our patients are benefitting from that."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Ted Raymond