The South Bruce Grey Health Centre (SBGHC) is planning on holding an information session to provide an update on nurse and medical laboratory technologist shortages.
SBGHC says they have been facing this issue in health human resources (HHR) for over five years, especially in these roles.
The information session on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m., will talk about the impact this has had on local hospital services.
The SBGHC says these HHR challenges are not unique to them however, the shortage is occurring around the province.
Reduction in services at SBGHC were seen as a result of challenges in September 2019, when the operating hours of the Chesley emergency department were reduced to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., due to a lack of nursing staff.
SBGHC President and CEO Michael Barrett, says they have had several close calls over the last six months where they were precariously close to having unplanned emergency department closures due to unfilled nursing shifts.
“It has to be emphasized that we have only been able to keep services open to date based on the good will and hard work of our front line staff and managers, and this situation is not sustainable,” says Barrett.
Entering the holiday season, SBGHC say they are facing significant shortages, and these will continue well into the new year.
To compensate, the SBGHC is looking into service reductions to ensure their level of service coincides with the amount of staff they have available.
The information session will be held via Zoom and Facebook Live, with SBGHC board members, staff and physicians present to answer questions and provide information to the community.
Details are available on the SBGHC’s website and social media pages. The session will also be recorded for those who are not able to make it.
