At the Kingston Center for Health Sciences, nearly 200 of their 6,000 employees are currently ill or out of work, according to President and CEO David Pichora. Pichora said he believed the community’s transmission was to blame. “If you look at what is happening in our community and with sewage testing, it is not surprising that we would have significant rates of staff contamination in the community,” he said. These local coronavirus effluent levels have recently risen to record highs in some locations. While the hospital itself maintains coverage requirements, Pichora said it is difficult to reduce staff exposure when these measures are not required outside the hospital in public places. CLOCKS Community Spread Overwhelming Kingston Grand Hospital:

The spread of COVID leads to a shortage of hospital staff in Kingston

David Pichora of the Kingston Health Sciences Center says the spread of COVID has hurt hospital staff and hopes people are wearing masks to limit the number of patients who will be treated. 1:39
Pichora said he hoped no further restrictions would be lifted until the health care facility was able to adequately respond to the sixth wave. All Ontario COVID-19 rules are scheduled to be lifted in two weeks. “Certainly from the hospital side, we are not really ready to move on,” he said.
The mask may no longer be needed in many places, but Pichora said he is asking community members to wear masks in public to help protect “stretched and tired” healthcare staff.
“We would definitely like people to wear masks in the community when they go to a store or a restaurant or whatever,” Pichora said. “It may not be mandatory anymore, but that does not mean it is not prudent.” Most importantly, the KHSC staff has grown in every way imaginable. They work overtime and care for more patients in each shift. But after two years they have burned. We continue to hire, hire and train new staff every day, but it is not enough. We need your help. – @ KingstonHSC

Ottawa hospitals are also struggling

Kingston is not the only city to feel the impact of the new, highly contagious variant. Many Ottawa hospitals told CBC they found it difficult to stay fully staffed.
The volume of the Emergency Department is historically high, admissions to inpatients are comparable to a busy season with viruses.But we have a shortage of staff – 144 are isolated at home today due to Covid infection at home or in the community. We recommend 😷💉 + to restrict contacts so you do not have to come here. – @AlexMunter
The Ottawa Hospital said in a statement that it was facing “staffing challenges” that could range when workers had to be isolated or ill. Montfort Hospital said in a statement that 92 staff members are currently in solitary confinement due to COVID – about double the amount seen earlier this year. According to the hospital, staff shortages are related to the increase in community transmission. The average Ottawa coronavirus effluent is about three times higher than the previous record in January 2022.

Pembroke must move staff

Pembroke Regional Hospital Managing Director Pierre Noel said the past few weeks have been some of the most difficult times in the entire pandemic. As restrictions loosen, he said they see more staff infections than ever before. Noel says the hospital now misses about 10 percent of its staff every day. Currently, there are almost 100 employees either isolated or infected. “Ready or not, we are in the sixth wave,” Noel said. “And we’ve been experiencing this for weeks.” Pembroke Regional Hospital has not been able to overcome the backlog without having to move staff from time to time to more critical areas of need. (Google Street View)
Noel said staff shortages throughout Ontario’s hospital system “reflect the fact that the current variant is so contagious and widespread.” Part of the reason why healthcare workers are so affected by increased transmission, Noel said, is because they need to be more isolated from the general public. While fully vaccinated individuals over the age of 12 should be isolated for five days after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, hospital staff and others working in higher-risk environments should be isolated for ten days after the onset of symptoms. “Higher risk arrangements” include hospitals, complex inpatient facilities and meeting places. Noel said the hospital was planning to intensify surgeries again – but with staffing issues, they may not always be able to provide the staff needed for some less-urgent areas. “This means, at times, moving staff from one area of ​​the hospital to one that is in critical need.”