Government challenged over Grace overnight doctor shortage

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This article was published 13/03/2023 (911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservative government has been accused of ignoring doctors’ calls for help to cover overnight shifts at Grace Hospital, amid patient safety concerns at the west Winnipeg hub.

On Monday, Premier Heather Stefanson and Health Minister Audrey Gordon came under fire from opposition leaders who questioned why Grace patients have languished for months with sub-standard physician coverage.

“These physicians who are duty bound to look after their patients are speaking out publicly, and they are saying that they no longer feel safe working at the Grace Hospital overnight,” NDP Leader Wab Kinew said.

On March 10, an open letter addressed to Gordon and signed by 45 general internal medicine physicians was shared with media. The letter dated March 9 says there has been an increase in baseline safety concerns and critical incidents owing to a lack of physicians on the medicine in-patient ward overnight.

Grace Hospital patient safety ‘severely compromised,’ doctors tell health minister

A temporary care model, established last winter, seconding an intensive care hospitalist to help with overnight coverage, failed to meet needs of the approximately 100 acutely ill patients on the ward or prevent patient deterioration prior to requiring ICU care, the doctors wrote.

In November, doctors sent a proposal to bring Grace in line with standards at St. Boniface Hospital and Health Sciences Centre to the Winnipeg Regional Healthy Authority. The plan proposed adding an overnight hospital medical officer and was initially approved but later retracted.

A second proposal was “met with silence” until March 7, the letter states.

“We cannot emphasize enough that patient safety remains severely compromised at the Grace Hospital because of the current inadequate response and commitment to properly fund a position,” the doctors wrote to the health minister.

“The situation has become so severe that some of our section members no longer feel comfortable working at Grace Hospital, recognizing the lack of patient safety which occurs after hours in that building.”

Kinew said physician staffing should have been addressed in November, when doctors first raised the matter.

“This government has had five months — five months where the doctors were trying to work behind the scenes to get their concerns addressed, five months in which nothing happened,” the NDP leader said.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont also questioned why the issue was allowed to simmer for months before reaching a crisis point, as described by the physicians.

“We’ll lose doctors and nurses because this government is ignoring basic safety,” Lamont said Monday. “This was raised in November. Why was this critical warning about patient safety ignored?”

Stefanson and Gordon both stated the Tory government is committed to working with front-line health-care workers, and said they are listening to Manitoba physicians.

The premier said her government is spending more money on health care — and accused the New Democrats of breaking a promise to connect all Manitobans with a family doctor when the party was in power. (The Tories formed government in 2016.)

“Action is being taken when it comes to this issue,” Stefanson said.

Gordon said, two weeks ago, the WRHA approved the hiring of additional physician assistants and one medical officer to help with coverage overnight on the acute medicine ward.

The health minister said discussions about staffing happen “many times over a number of weeks” among regional health leaders, when pressed on why it took about four months to approve funding for staff.

“We are pleased that authority has now been given to add these additional physician resources and we’re going to continue to support our health system leaders,” Gordon said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the WRHA said three physician assistant positions will be posted shortly and the region is working with the internal medicine team at Grace Hospital to finalize details of the hospital medical officer position.

The spokesperson said the temporary care model using an ICU hospitalist coverage will be extended beyond March 31, to ensure overnight coverage until the hospital medical officer position is filled.

Doctors Manitoba spokesman Keir Johnson said the situation at Grace is urgent and a symptom of the widespread physician shortage in the province.

“When there’s a chronic physician shortage like we have, health care erodes and gaps in coverage emerge,” Johnson said. “A rapid resolution is needed on these issues, while we also press for meaningful action that will retain and recruit more doctors to meet the needs of Manitobans.”

— with files from Chris Kitching

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca