Gatineau area hospitals reeling after summer nurse exodus
Posted Sep 17, 2021 03:37:00 PM.
Gatineau's healthcare sector is dealing with a massive nurse shortage.
Quebec Minister of Health Christian Dubé said 4,000 nurses are needed across the province and pointed to the Outaouais as an area of desperate need. Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais has since confirmed it's short 350 nurses across the entire organization.
Before the pandemic, the local health unit says just 60 per cent of all nursing positions across the region were filled, but it's since lost another 20 per cent.
Between June and August of this year, more than 100 nurses within CISSS de l'Outaouais decided to change careers.
The Gatineau Hospital is still in need of 20 new nurses just to fully reopen its emergency department. It's currently operating in a restricted capacity between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., daily; only tending to children, pregnant women and those with mental health issues.
