Unable to reach a compromise with the nurses on the evening shift at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (HMR), the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal resolves to ask the population to avoid emergencies for the night. The situation is “untenable”, says the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
While about 100 ER nurses threaten to quit on Wednesday if the head of their unit isn’t replaced, night shift workers objected to the contingency plan presented to them when they arrived at work on Monday evening.
According to them, the plan proposed by the management, which forces them to work in small teams, would involve risks for the health of the patients. After several hours of negotiations, the senior management of the establishment asks the population to avoid going to the emergency room from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.
In a press release, the management evokes “an exceptional situation” and thanks the population for “its collaboration”. The situation must be reviewed on Tuesday morning.
“Patients currently in the emergency room and unstable patients arriving by ambulance will remain admitted to ensure safety. Outpatients will not be able to be taken care of tonight. The other ambulances will be redirected during the closing period to other establishments in the Greater Montreal area.
The CIUSSS reminds that people can turn to their family doctor, a pharmacist or a doctor in a walk-in clinic. The 8-1-1 line is still in place.
Minister Christian Dubé spoke with the president and CEO of the establishment, Jean-François Verreault-Fortin, in the evening. “The emergency situation at HMR is currently untenable, I am aware of that,” he wrote on Twitter late Monday.
“Our priority is to ensure the safety of all patients. That’s why we made the difficult decision to limit activities to the emergency room for this night. We will take stock [lundi] “, he added.
The problem with the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital emergency room is that they will never close because of the geographical position and the size of the hospital, explains Denis Cloutier, president of the Union of healthcare professionals. East of the Island of Montreal. “So the management proposes to remain open, while always removing more staff,” he denounces.
The reductions in services offered Monday evening by the CIUSSS generally do not make a significant difference, adds Mr. Cloutier. “In fact, the emergency is open,” he recalls.
The health of patients at risk
“It’s ridiculous what’s going on here,” says Annie Fournier, a nurse at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital for a dozen years. Like his colleagues on the Monday evening shift, Mme Fournier is refusing to work because of the conditions currently prevailing in the hospital emergency room.
Monday evening, due to the shortage of manpower, seven employees of the day shift had initially to stay in the evening doing “compulsory overtime” (TSO), details Mme Fournier.
“At the last minute [les gestionnaires] canceled that, to have zero TSO. And they asked us to return with a load of patients which is impossible, denounces Mme Fournier. They ask us to be a nurse and two auxiliary nurses for about 50 patients. »
A situation that endangers the safety of emergency users, she says. “We are asked to ensure the safety of all these patients, it is unacceptable, continues Mme Fournier. Our responsibility as nurses is very great. »
Sunday, The Press reported that a hundred emergency nurses at this hospital were threatening to leave their posts if the head of unit did not lose hers. A little earlier last week, the union also claimed that a “sad record” of TSO had been crossed in the emergency room.
For Anne Lecers, nursing assistant who has just started her career in the industry, this situation is worrying. “I don’t want to become a person who suffers in the end because the working conditions are very difficult,” she reacts.
As of late Monday evening, the nurses on the evening shift were still refusing to work. Day nurses provided care during the evening, while there were too few staff scheduled to cover all night shifts, said Cloutier. According to him, “it could be very problematic [à la fin du quart de soir]at midnight “.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
A young nurse, Stefania Teodora Grigorescu, overwhelmed by the required working conditions, is consoled by a colleague.
Too many patients for ER capacity
The CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal affirms that the average number of hours worked since mid-December by a nurse assigned to emergencies is 34.25 hours per week.
The demand that is placed on the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital, in terms of care for the population, in particular in the emergency room, “far exceeds the capacity of the care offer of the establishment and the technical platforms available”, indicated the spokesperson, Christian Merciari.
The emergency rooms receive daily up to 25% more patients than their capacity. “In addition, we have to serve up to 27% of the population when we only have 17% of short-term beds available,” he added in a statement.
The establishment reiterates that everything is done to avoid having to resort to the TSO.
Passing through Everybody talks about it On Sunday, Health Minister Christian Dubé admitted that the emergency room at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital was serving too high a volume of patients for its capacity.