After months of attending Kingston General Hospital, a mother was forced to care for a sick child and was understaffed in the hospital's Pediatric Critical Care Unit . Say you're worried.
Vanessa Ivimey's daughter Ivy Murray has a genetic mutation called SNC2A in her known to cause premature epilepsy and developmental delay.
A 3-year-old 's symptoms included seizures, and according to Ivimey , her family reported her COVID-19 diagnosis in April of this year. After testing positive, her seizures worsened.
The two spent more than her 40 nights in the hospital between April and July. Ivimey said she witnessed a worrying staffing shortage during that time.
"I've seen nurses have to decide which child to care for first," she said, referring to the normal inpatient pediatric unit and the pediatric ward. She added that she counted four nurses on most days to cover both. critical care unit.
"The number of staff is never plentiful...they are good enough to help you and your children."
See | Parents warn of Kingston General Hospital pediatric staff shortage
Parents warn of pediatric staff shortages at Kingston General Hospital
Losing her confidence in her healthcare system
Ivimey says her daughter She said she was forced to take care of her.
Ivimey began to bring medicine from her home after realizing that her daughter had not received the medicine she needed on time, she said.
She also decided to learn how to use the oxygen machine needed when her daughter had a seizure.
In one of these instances she rang a buzzer for her help, saying that her daughter was "turning blue." .
"Nobody came...so I went back to my room and did the same thing I saw the other nurses do. I put her on her side." "I put it on and turned on the oxygen machine. On her face. I made sure she was breathing properly," she said.
Ivimey does not blame hospital staff and nurses for these incidents, but rather the entire healthcare system.
"I can't help but get angry when I think that the children's rooms aren't worth taking care of like other rooms," she said, expressing sympathy for the overworked staff.
The experience has taken a toll on Ivimey's mental health, she said, making it difficult for her to focus on caring for her daughter.
Hospitals facing severe staffing shortages
According to the Kingston Health Science Center, the hospital faces severe staffing shortages across all departments and programs, including pediatrics. It is one of many hospitals across the country that are
"This shortage is the result of many factors," the hospital said in a statement, citing absenteeism, early retirement and staff turnover from the healthcare industry as some of the reasons. 77}
Health centers are actively recruiting to fill vacancies, but a statewide shortage of trained health care providers makes this difficult.
Hospital (submitted by Vanessa Ivimey) suggests that anyone with concerns should contact the Patient Relations Team.
Ivimey said she was not doing so because she was worried her concerns would be misunderstood.
"They have phenomenal nurses and social workers, and a really hard-working administrative staff. I'm always worried that I'm doing their job," she said.
"No."
Unions tell state to do something now
Ontario Registered Nurses Association (RNAO) ) CEO Doris Grinspun said Ontario was already short of 22,000 registered nurses before the pandemic began. The shortage is only getting worse, and nurses are working more to fill the gap.
"Unless something is done substantially soon, it could be a place of no return," she said.
A few months from now it may be too late.- Doris Grinspan, RNAO CEO
According to Grinspan, a study conducted by RNAO found that 75% of nurses are burnt out and more than half are out of patient care. I am considering leaving or retiring. completely professional.
"This puts her family in a situation where some care must be initiated because the nurse has twice or three times the workload of her. That's why," she added Grinspun.
Solutions for the association include increased bonuses, removal of wage caps, and expedited licensing of internationally educated nurses to reduce pressure on the health care system. includes transformation.
Grinspun noted that having retired nurses as mentors not only helps ease the burden, but also increases the availability of nurses to support hospital staff. Said helpful.
"Now is the time, because in a few months it could be too late," she said.