The CHU de Québec is sounding the alarm. The health establishment is facing a severe shortage of manpower and must put in place “exceptional” measures to ensure the care of the population it serves. Caregivers with COVID-19 will have to return to work after five days of isolation and no longer ten days, as is currently the case in the public health network.
No less than 416 employees of the CHU de Québec have COVID-19, three times more than a month ago. Added to this number are carers who are on vacation – a “well-deserved” vacation, it was insisted.
However, the five emergencies of the health establishment are overflowing. “We have 12% more outpatients [pas sur civière] only in April,” says Danielle Goulet, Deputy Chief Executive Officer. The pressure is great on staff to work overtime and compulsory overtime, she explained.
“To ensure services, the decision we made was to decree that we are in significant and persistent compromise of care and to proceed with the return to work of health care workers who are COVID positive,” indicated the Dr Stéphane Bergeron, director of professional services and medical affairs, during a press briefing held on Friday.
The return to work of infected staff will be done in a “thoughtful” way, he stressed. “We know that this involves a risk, but this risk we try to mitigate,” he said.
Infected caregivers will wear the N-95 mask “at all times”. They will have to take their break and their meal in a dedicated rest room. “These health care workers, when they are within our walls, we will try as much as possible to assign them to the care of patients with COVID-19,” added Dr. Bergeron. They will not be able to treat “vulnerable” patients in “sanctuary” areas, such as in cancerology.
More details to come…