Quebec adds health-care workers to help fill Outaouais staff shortages

A small number of health-care professionals has been deployed as an addedstaffing boost to some hospitals, long-term care homesand clinics in the Outaouaisregion.

The Centre intgr de sant et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais(CISSSO),western Quebec's health authority, sent seven health-care workers earlier this month to CHSLD dela Petite-Nation, a long-term care homeeast of Gatineau.

Starting Monday, two new auxiliary nurses will be lending a hand at theFoyer Pre-Guinard, along-term care homeinManiwaki, Que., saidCamille Brochu-Lafrance, a spokesperson for CISSSO.

Anotherauxiliary nurse is expected in the region in the beginning of November in a sector which remains to be determined, she added.

In May, the Quebec government announced it wouldcreate a"flying squad"to address the shortage of health-care workersin some regions of the province.

Earlier in the summer, CISSSO saidit needed nurses and nursing assistants for emergency, operating room, surgical unit and intensive care sectors, withCEO Marc Bilodeausaying he was preparing for the "worst-case scenario."

Bilodeau added that staffing had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Karine D'Auteuil, president of the Syndicat des professionnelles en soins de l'Outaouais, a local nurses union, said the recent deployments area step in the right direction but that "we must not [declare] victory."

"We must continue to work on recruitment. The shortage in Outaouais is critical," she said in French.