The President and CEO of Alexandra Marine and General and South Huron Hospitals says staffing problems at all hospitals are only going to worse as we head into summer.
Jimmy Trieu says it's not only an Ontario system problem.
“But it also affects us locally in terms of where we find staff and how we compete against others for staff as well and so that's become much more critical for us as we head into the summer. We work closely with our peers to kind of know what the pressure points are for each hospital," Trieu shared.
But Trieu adds, they still run into last minute closures when they're not expecting it. He says a lot of people are looking for ways to address the problem, but he doesn't see any immediate solutions.
“Certainly from even a Provincial level they're trying to ease some of the registration and certification requirements for internationally educated nurses or physicians. And that's one way to do it but I think that takes several months and years to sort itself out.”
At this time, Trieu notes the need is right now and so all of the hospitals are counting on the support of the surrounding hospitals to stay on top of the situation. He says they're also working with the various unions to allow staff to cross over to different sites or different organizations, and that's an ongoing conversation.