Brandon ER 'hemorrhaging' staff and facing collapse, says letter from doctors pleading for help
'We will experience a catastrophic outcome that could have been prevented,' letter says
Doctors at the Brandon Regional Health Centre say the staffing shortage in the emergency department is putting it "on the brink of collapse."
"We are witnessing levels of burnout and exhaustion that we have never witnessed previously. We are hemorrhaging senior and experienced nursing staff that are integral to having a functioning emergency department," says a letter sent to Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, dated Nov. 6.
"What we are witnessing and experiencing is distressing and unsettling. We often work with no breaks due to the volume and acuity [of patients], which only contributes to exhaustion and burnout.
"We are at a loss. We need your help. We are, frankly, on the brink of collapse."
The letter says the health centre's emergency department has a 34 per cent vacancy in physician positions. That will climb to 42 per cent in January, when two doctors take maternity leave.
"In our current conditions, we will experience a catastrophic outcome that could have been prevented. We have been desperately trying to prevent this, with no avail," the letter says.
The letter was tabled by Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party health critic Kathleen Cook in question period at the Manitoba Legislature on Wednesday.
"They're very concerned that something's going to happen to a patient" and don't feel heard by the government, Cook told reporters after question period, saying she met with the physicians earlier this week.
"They also indicated that they had not yet received a response from the minister of health. For a government that touts itself as a listening government, to not immediately respond to a letter that's this distressing, from a group of front line health-care professionals, I think is very telling."
The NDP opened a minor injury and illness clinic in Brandon on Sept. 27, which Cook says was "touted as a solution to ease pressure on the ER" by acting as an urgent care centre.
"When I met with these health-care professionals earlier this week, they told me it's not functioning anywhere near the level of an urgent care centre and it's in fact not relieving pressure on the ER because it lacks diagnostic tools. It's not taking walk-in patients — you have to make an appointment, and it's not fully staffed," she said.
"We still haven't seen, and there was no mention of it in the throne speech, a really credible plan to recruit and retain and train [health-care] staff in Manitoba."
Premier Wab Kinew fired back at the PCs in question period, accusing them of creating the crisis through health-care cuts.
"Where they closed emergency departments, we continue to see the multi-year damage. The good news? You actually have a capable health minister today," he said, but didn't say why Asagwara hasn't reached out to the doctors.
"If they wanted more physicians in the emergency room and Brandon today, they needed to be training them seven years ago. Who was in office during those times?"
Asagwara said Thursday they are reaching out to doctors and have identified one more physician who will work at the emergency department.
Cook said that is not enough and questioned why the NDP government ignored the Nov. 6 letter.
"They tout themselves as a listening government, but when front line health-care professionals reach out, begging for help, they're ignored," Cook said Thursday.
The letter in question outlined differences in the emergency department in Brandon compared to Winnipeg, which has far more resources and a separate hospital for children.
"In our emergency, we see patients who are babies and patients who are centenarians, and everyone in between," it says, adding staff stabilize, manage, and admit patients themselves, while also serving as the code team and trauma team for the hospital.
It is not uncommon for multiple critical patients to arrive simultaneously, and often during the busiest hours, while increasingly there is just one physician working, the letter says.
It also says there has been "an explosion in illicit drug use, particularly methamphetamines," sparking a surge in patients with drug-induced psychosis, whose care can be resource-intensive and time-consuming.
"We truly do the best we can, but we are also human. We have to try to think quickly and make safe decisions. It is morally distressing when we know that people are waiting to be seen and we are doing our best to get to them, but also having to perform all of the tasks that are asked of us.
"It is not sustainable. It is not safe."
Rapid action needed: Doctors Manitoba
In a statement emailed to CBC News, Doctors Manitoba, the advocacy organization for physicians, said the situation in Brandon is critical, and "rapid action is needed to stabilize staffing."
Chronic doctor shortages are a concern across the province as a whole, the email said, referring to a Doctors Manitoba survey from earlier this year; among doctors who responded, 46 per cent said they were burned out, while 54 per cent said they were experiencing distress.
"The situation in Brandon ER is acute and the level of distress and burnout is likely much higher," Doctors Manitoba's Thursday statement said.
The organization's survey also suggested Manitoba could lose about 688 doctors — one-fifth of those working — from the system over the next three years due to retirements and doctors leaving for other provinces.
