Documents reveal operating room shutdowns amid a 'critical lack' of workers in southern Vancouver Island.
Summer is a characteristically difficult time to properly staff hospitals. But chronic staff shortages on Vancouver Island had persisted for years before the 2023 summer holiday season began.
According to documents obtained by The Tyee via a freedom of information request, planned operating room closures at Royal Jubilee Hospital and Victoria General Hospital began in fall 2022. Staffing shortages continue to impact the provision of health-care services and surgical capacity today. Between Sept. 6 and Dec. 16, 2022, operating rooms at these two hospitals were closed for a total of 69 days.
Neither the Ministry of Health nor Island Health have answered The Tyee's repeated requests for interviews and answers to questions about current operating room closures and surgical capacities.When employees leave their jobs in one hospital department, it has a “domino effect” on the rest of the system, said Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi.
Hospital staff leaving to work at a less stressful job is a known phenomenon, for reasons shared by both Dr. Unger and Dr. Gandhi. A report from the ministry this March shows B.C. has nearly caught up on surgeries that were postponed between March 2020 and February 2022 due to COVID-19 cases and measures.
Across B.C., health-care workers have been embroiled in ongoing cycles of illness and burnout, the cumulative effect of surges in COVID-19 and other respiratory illness patients, dangerous staff shortages, and the ensuing pressure on hospitals and patients.
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