Overcrowded Grace Hospital emergency room 'at the breaking point,' nurse says

When Jan Wynnwas told her father, a patient at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg,was being moved from a treatment area, she was thrilled.

But when she didn't hear an update for a while,she went straight to a deskat the emergency department.

"It turned out I walked right pasthim and didn't even see him because he was right there in the hallway," Wynn recalls.

The medical staff said, "'It's not ideal; it's not good he's in the hallway.'"

While the pandemic isn't straininghospitals to the same degree as before, the diagnosis for Winnipeg's health-care system istroubling and, in some cases, worsening. Wait times increased in March at every hospital, patients arewaitinginERs for days foran inpatient bed andchronicstaffing shortages are widespread.

Hallways lined with patients

Grace Hospital has been particularly challenged. At any given time, as many as 20 patients are waiting in the hallway, said anurse at the ER, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

"There are no call bells on the walls. There are no oxygen on the walls there," the nurse said.

"It's not an adequate place for them to be."

Patients have to be kept in the hallway because the emergency department, suited for 31 beds, is sometimes treating as many as 90 patients at a time. There are more than 80 patients in the ER multiple times a week, the nurse said.

And dire staffshortages are not helping.

In recent weeks, leadersat the Grace are"grasping at anything" to fill vacancies, the nurse said.The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) which operates Grace and several otherhospitals in the city has asked public health nurses to pick up shifts at theER "potentially for several weeks."

Aleaked schedule shows only two to four nurses staffed the unitsomenights, while 10 or 11 nurses worked on day shifts.

In the last six months, the nurse is aware of at least nine colleagues who left jobs at Grace ER, burnt out and frustrated by the mandatory overtime.

The same nurse has noticed a spike in very ill patients arriving at the hospital. Those issues, coupled withstaffing issues, have left the emergency department swamped.

"Emergencies departmentsare supposed to be used for [a patient] coming in;you get whatever you need done, and then you're moved on toICU or you're moved onto a ward so the rest of the care can be completed.So they're healthy enough to go home and rehabilitated," they said.

"But when you don't have anywhere else to move them, they're getting stuck in the emergency department.

"It's many things all bunched into one. It's kind ofbeen brewing for a long time, and it's at a breaking point, I feel."

A few of the wards that should absorbER patients have closed because of a lack of staff, the nurse said. "There's nowhere to ship them to."

As many as 90 patients are beingtreated in Grace Hospital's emergency department, which is suited for 31 beds, the nurse said. Thenumber of patients fluctuates in the 80- to 85-person range multiple times a week.

In late April, Jan Wynn's 90-year-oldfather spent seven hours in that hallway.

While waiting with her father, she made a point of pulling upa chair andsnugglingherself as close toher father's hallway bedwhenever someone walked past.

She knew she was taking up space, but Wynn felt sheneeded to be there.

"I didn't want anybody to forget that he was there," Wynn said.

Advocating for her father's care

"I didn't want to yell at anybody or get mad or be obnoxious,but I wanted to make sure that people knew I was there.I just sat there andkept offering to buy people coffee andasking,'What's going on? What's going on?'"

She recalls another patient who didn't have the strength to shout that he needed water. Hearing his quiet pleas, Wynncalled over a nurse on his behalf.

"It's just a really sad place to be, and I'm not allowed to help anybody because of COVID or whatever. I couldn't get anybody a cup of coffee or water." Wynn said.

NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwarasaid it is disheartening to hearthe lengths Wynn had to go through.

"Certainly it raises concerns that if she wasn't there, what might have happened? What aboutthe many folks who are in emergency rooms or urgent cares and they don't have a loved one who's there to advocate on their behalf?" Asagwara said.

"Her experience is not the experience that Manitobans should have when they're accessing ERs in our province."

Asagwara has been hearingfor many months about thestaffing shortages. The Union Station MLAsaid the blame falls squarely on the government for not acting quickly enough before thevacanciesbecame a crisis.

A provincial spokesperson called the health care of Manitobans the highest priority of the government.

The WRHA said in a statement that such issues at theGrace, and elsewhere, are stemming from a surge in the number of patients. "This is an ongoing issue that did notdevelop overnight, and we are committed to addressing the situation and ensuring safe and effective care to all who need it."

The health authority said it is working on a number of initiatives to improve patient flow, such asspreading out patient volumes across the city's hospitals.

Wynn,who applaudedthe health-care workers for their hard work,chose to speak out afterreading a news story in which Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon described themoving of patients to hallways and staff lounges as short-lived.

"They're trying to reassure the public that this is OK. And what I saw in my little stay, it's not OK."

Since then, her father has spent the last weekat St. Boniface Hospital and Wynn said it has beena superb experience.

Overcrowded Grace Hospital emergency room 'at the breaking point,' nurse says

2 years ago

Duration 1:52

While the pandemic isn't straining hospitals to the same degree as before, the diagnosis for Winnipeg's health-care system is troubling and, in some cases, worsening. Wait times increased in March at every hospital, patients are waiting in ERs for days for an inpatient bed and chronic staffing shortages are widespread.