If the brilliance of the nurses at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital’s emergency department on Monday night allowed them to find temporary solutions, the staffing shortage remains intact, the union warns.
• Also read: Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital: A mediator is appointed, a director assigned
• Also read: Valérie Plante “extremely concerned” about the situation at Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital
The resignation of 92 of the 113 emergency room nurses was narrowly avoided thanks to changes announced on Tuesday, including the transfer of their department head and the transfer of some ambulances to other hospitals.
“It solves the problem of the threat of resignation en bloc. […] But I strongly fear there will be more sit-ins in the future,” said Denis Cloutier, president of the Union of Care Professionals of the East-of-the-Island-of-Montreal.
Its members are fed up with the forced overtime hours (TSO) imposed on them and their more than difficult working conditions due to the labor shortage.
Screenshot, TVA Nouvelles
Discouraged nurses count the mandatory overtime hours (TSO) imposed. At the beginning of January, 80 shifts were affected in four days.
They also rejected the emergency plan proposed by their manager on Monday night because of the risks to patient safety, leading to a partial closure of the emergency room during the night.
- Listen to Denis Cloutier’s interview on the show by Philippe-Vincent Foisy, broadcast live daily on QUB radio :
The weight of the hours
Also on Tuesday evening, 12 out of 24 nurses were missing, reports Mr. Cloutier.
“Eight worked overtime voluntarily, which probably means four others had to do TSO,” he explains, specifying that he does not envisage a break in service.
Danielle Dionne
mother of a patient
“You can see that they have the burden of overtime on their shoulders,” said Danielle Dionne, who escorted her daughter, who has Crohn’s disease, to the emergency room on Monday.
Ambulances, about seven a day, according to Mr Cloutier, are also being sent to other hospitals to ease the workload at Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
“We are supported by the health network to reduce the number of ambulances arriving at HMR. You have to start having a little less volume, having a work-family balance,” explained the CEO of the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, Jean-François Fortin-Verreault.
This decision is not without concern for the President of the Users’ Committee of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Patrick Cothenet.
“Our concern is that patients receive the care they deserve and are not distracted. We have a hospital, it has to be functional. »
In addition, Health Minister Christian Dubé appointed a mediator to bring caregivers and managers closer together, acknowledging that the situation was “unsustainable”.
The CEO of the CIUSSS also announced that the emergency manager would be reassigned to other duties. ” [Elle] is not responsible for us taking in more patients than our capacity,” he argued.
– With Hugo Duchaine a Gabriel Côté, agency QMI
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?