There is frustration at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) which manages both the Huntsville and Bracebridge hospitals. Nurses are feeling overworked and their caseload is increasing, says one nurse who asked that she not be identified for fear of being reprimanded.
“They have increased our workloads which is challenging, especially with sick calls,” said the nurse. “We do workload grievances which goes to management and the union but have not seen progress from that. Many unfortunately are too tired or fed up to do them as it is complicated and time-consuming. It’s easier to consider an exit plan instead.”
The nurse explained that for many, finding a work/life balance is becoming increasingly difficult at the hospital due to scheduling and what she described as a poor work atmosphere that is top-heavy.
Likewise, a letter from a physician was circulated hospital-wide and shared with this publication. The letter describes an environment of disrespect and frustration between hospital administrators, staff, and physicians. The doctor also expresses concern for patient outcomes, particularly when a patient has to be transferred elsewhere due to staff shortages.
MAHC has indicated it is moving to a new patient care model in some of its units which it says will help address nursing shortages.
According to Melissa Bilodeau, MAHC Director of Nursing, Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive, the new model is aimed at delivering “a more patient-centered approach to care.”
“Within the Emergency Departments and inpatient units, we have been working to implement this team-based approach to patient care where providers are able to work at the top of their scope of practice, using the skillset of the right team member at the right time for nursing duties, and for supportive/personal care and non-nursing duties such as stocking and portering,” she noted via email correspondence, adding that moving to the new model involves the recruitment of PSWs (Personal Support Workers) and Unit Aides to support patient care and “broaden the makeup of the care team beyond nursing to ensure all of our staff can spend as much time as possible with patients.”
Bilodeau added that the interdisciplinary care model also aligns with the new scope of practice for nursing released by the College of Nurses of Ontario on July 1, 2023.
“We developed this care model as an innovative solution to better meet the needs of patients amidst continued healthcare workforce shortages province-wide, including challenges to fill nursing vacancies in Muskoka. We continue working with our staff and listening to their feedback to continuously evaluate and adjust care models to enhance care and proactively respond to the current workforce climate.”
When asked what safeguards are in place to ensure there is consistency of care if the care involves more people, Bilodeau indicated that “consistency of care is enhanced through this integrated care model where providers in the patient’s circle of care work collaboratively together with multiple communication touchpoints throughout the patient’s admission.”
The new care model is being phased in over the next couple of months in various units across both MAHC sites as the necessary positions are filled, said Bilodeau.
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Nurses are not the only medical workers in short supply.
I retired May 10, 2019 from SMMH lab.
Since then I have worked as a casual tech taking 12 to 15 shifts a month. There is no one to fill my shifts. I could easily work full time hours still. We have two travel techs working with us to fill the shifts. Everyone is working extra to cover the empty shifts each month. It is similar in the Diagnostic Imaging department. We are continually asked to work more and more. The answer to this is way above my pay grade.
I would like to address Mr Gruscyk comment. The Huntsville and Bracebridge Hospital Auxillary do a fantastic job of keeping our hospitals afloat. However, their hands are tied when it comes to what the volunteers can do. My own experience was with the Huntsville branch. I was told by the president that unions step in if volunteers do those jobs that fall under the job descriptions of any employee. Their main focus is raising money. However, visit their website to see if you can help them out. Your community thanks you in advance.
I would like to sign out by suggesting Step 1 for the Retention Model I outlined above. The person at the top of any organization sets the tone of culture within the organization. I have come to realize that many of the frontline staff at MAHC have not met the CEO and would not recognize her if she passed them in the halls. Remedy that by having the CEO visit her troops (staff ) regularly. They are struggling in the trenches and a personal visit and chat, offering sincere words of praise and thanks would go a long way to boost morale.
How many nurses are being lost to the “traveling nurse” trap. They are paid double for the same work if going go an underserviced area (usually north) As usual, a funding shortfall.
It would appear that the new patient care model that MAHC is moving toward is a Pod model. According to the Professional Practice Network of Ontario, this is a reconfigured team-based approach that is usually implemented in crises such as critical staffing shortages and sudden increases in patient volumes that can’t be handled in a clinical area. So one can deduce that MAHC is dealing with a crisis and implementing this model will help manage the crisis…….to a point.
I say this because this model will only succeed if the human resources (RN, RPN, PSW, Aides ) are there to support the model. Does MAHC have the staff? I doubt it. MAHC has fallen short in recruiting public-service healthcare workers. Some reasons are beyond their control, affordable housing is one of them. However, the organization must take responsibility and consider other approaches such as reducing the number of management personnel. This is a very top-heavy organization for its size.
Might I suggest another model….A Retention Model. What can MAHC do to improve morale and retain its staff? What can be done to stop the bleeding of its front-line staff? A CBC News editorial recently highlighted Ottawa Queensway Carleton and other smaller hospitals ( Referenced below ). The simplicity of their approach speaks to a culture that respects, values and cares for their staff. Their focus was recruitment and retention. These hospitals listened to their staff and together created innovative schedules to help balance out their work-life balance to name one improvement. MAHC must respect and nurture its staff who are invested and dedicated to this community. Too much money has been invested in agency nurses who come and go after making double or sometimes triple the wage of our MAHC staff. Where is the incentive to stay?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-hospital-nurse-agency-temporary-cost-1.7056380
Top heavy i believe. This solution they are talking about wont work. It still takes Dr. And nurses to make it work. Drop having to get the covid jab as it is being discovered that it has caused heart deaths. Pay the nurses what they are worth. More money and more incentives is a start. Hire some of the nurses back that refused the covid jab. We were short nurses before the demand for covid jab.
Hi Debra,
I can appreciate your point but what I was trying to outline was that the administration would not be able to justify cutting back staff to compensate, if they had the savings from eliminating superfluous administrative positions (and you know that there are many). Also, some nurses (in particular), who have quit the system because they simply cannot handle the workload, might be incentivized to come back, at least part time.
Another solution for the administration is to require their managers (most, or all of whom, are R.N.s) to pitch in and help during the winter sickness and summer holiday staff shortages. In the past, I worked in a large hospital (500 beds) where the nursing supervisors were called on to work in patient care, when there were staff shortages. A shortage of nursing professionals has been a chronic problem for a great number of years. That is because there are few occupations that require as much head knowledge in addition to the very hard, labour intensive work. The only professions having similar requirements are EMTs, police and firefighters. The latter three are paid much better, have better work schedules and benefits. Why is that? I think we know the answer.
It is clear in the research that reducing the skill set of the healthcare provider, increases patient morbidity (death) and mortality (disease).
So the saga continues……..Create a crisis (layoff RN’s and Nurse Practitioners, and create a subsequent RN shortage) and then replace with less skilled!
Right on Debra!!! “GOOD LUCK” to all as there is NO easy answer or solution.
Beg to disagree with Erin’s comment regarding wages. More money will not help exhausted and over worked staff. I know. Also ,as soon as wages increase, the institution cuts staff to compensate.
We need more nurses and doctors and they are not to be found.
are there any roles that volunteers can provide? There seems to be a wealth of folks who are retired with lots of skills that would consider certain roles.
In response to Ms. Bilodeau who insists that the new care model “…is aimed at delivering a more patient-centered approach to care…” I would ask, what was it before??? Here’s an idea, why not do away with the positions of some of the unproductive paper-pushers and use the savings to pay higher wages and benefits to the front-line workers? Pay enough to incentivize them to override their reluctance to enter a system that overworks its most important staff–the ones who really ARE patient-centered. They are the ones who have to deal with the guilt and sorrow of seeing their patients ignored by a system which is insulated from seeing the misery of many patients (as well as their families) caught up in that system.
An additional observation: One iron rule of bureaucracy is that the lower levels of the bureaucracy are expected to protect the bureaucracy from criticism–especially of those higher up in the “food chain.” It’s corollary is that socialism/communism fosters the building of huge hierarchical and dictatorial bureaucracies.