With the Omicron variant causing the COVID-19 case count to hit record highs, Ontario long-term care homes are experiencing staffing shortages in an already overtaxed workplace.
Health care advocates warn of the toll this latest variant is taking on an industry that was already facing staffing shortages before the pandemic.
“I hear a lot of frustration among healthcare workers who have been there for years and dedicated their lives,” says London Health Coalition co-chairman Peter Bergmanis.
“We had a staffing problem before the pandemic, and now it’s made worse by the pandemic. People retire, they want time off, they need time off, and they can’t get it.”
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Bergmanis said many staff members don’t feel supported, with fatigue from the past two years.
The executive director of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association told Global News that an estimated 20 to 30 percent of staff are not working right now due to the pandemic.
“We’re seeing more waves of staff leaving and coming back, so it’s not a big one-time hit, it’s more of an ongoing impact that we find more manageable at the moment,” Donna Duncan told Global News.
Duncan noted that changes like vaccinations have made things more manageable for staff.
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Some houses, Duncan says, have come up with some creative solutions, reaching out to family members of residents to help or to restaurants that are currently closed to see if they can help in the kitchen.
“We anticipate that most Ontario households will eventually see outbreaks in their homes given the nature of Omicron and how quickly it spreads throughout the community,” says Duncan.
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Internationally trained nurses to work in Ontario hospitals to alleviate staff shortages
To help ease the shortage, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott announced Tuesday that the province will deploy internationally trained nurses to hospitals facing staffing shortages.
To help both hospitals and long-term care homes, Elliot said international nurses who have applied to practice in Ontario “will have the opportunity to fulfill their application requirements by working in healthcare settings under the supervision of a nursing home.” regulated health care. supplier.”
More than 1,200 applicants have already applied and are expected to be assigned to facilities in need as soon as possible, says Elliott.
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