Healthcare network taking steps to limit summer worker shortages

By Gordon Lambie
The CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS will be closing about 42 adult physical care beds across the local healthcare network this summer in order to account for worker shortages, while also placing a greater focus on home care for those awaiting a spot in a CHSLD.
According to Dr Colette Bellavance, Director of professional services with the regional healthcare establishment, the change will result in a reduction of about ten per cent in the availability of operating rooms, with a priority being placed on procedures that will not require a hospitalization afterwards.
“The human resources situation requires us to make some adjustments for the summer season,” Bellavance said, pointing out that this is a normal practice within the network.
Meanwhile Danika Manseau, Director of Home Care and Specialized Services in Geriatrics and Autism Spectrum Disorders with the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS said that the hope is that providing increased homecare services will free up additional clinical care space.
“It is always better to be at home than to be waiting for a place in the hospital,” Manseau said, explaining that the individuals targeted through the initiative are people who no longer require hospital services but are sitting in short-term care beds while they wait for a space in a long-term care facility to open up.
The news of thee changes came on Monday as representatives of the network provided an update on a forecast of a difficult summer made this past March. In the context of that update Yann Belzile, the Director of Human Resources, Communications, and Legal Affairs for the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS, told media that the CIUSSS is making good progress on a series of measures meant to help limit the impacts of the season. With an ongoing labour shortage to contend with on top of Covid fatigue and the fact that summer is usually a season with a reduced workforce due to vacations, Belzile reiterated the fact that an action plan was necessary to avoid serious issues in the coming months.
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