Queensway Carleton Hospital among healthcare institutions reporting slowed services due to staffing shortages

Staffing shortages all over Ottawa are impacting healthcare settings, forcing establishments to either temporarily reduce services or cancel appointments altogether.

Among those affected are the Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) and the South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre.

In a news release, the QCH said the shortage, which has been caused by the COVID pandemic, is affecting services in ambulatory care, as well as therapeutic services.

Patients are also being reminded to expect longer than usual wait times in the emergency department and are urged to only use the ER for emergencies.

“This morning, occupancy was 107%, which isn’t unusually high for this time of year, but there is 141% occupancy in medicine and 150 patients on isolation precautions,” the QCH wrote in a Facebook post.

“We appreciate how difficult this is for our patients whose care needs may be delayed. Please know, this isn’t a decision that was made lightly. The team is working very hard to provide the highest quality care, and to return to normal operations as soon as we can,” Kerry Cook, interim chief nursing executive and vice president of patient care, added.

This comes as more than 40 per cent of QCH staff has tested positive for COVID-19, which the hospital said creates additional challenges for the hospital.

The South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre has also cancelled all vaccine appointments due to staffing shortages.

In a tweet, the health centre said appointments through January 7 are cancelled and anyone with an appointment scheduled during that time will be contacted to reschedule.