Emergency room closures were common across Ontario this summer – but Bancroft’s hospital was able to avoid that fate.
Staff’s exhausting efforts to keep services steady amid a labour crunch was nothing short of heroic, Quinte Health Care officials say.
Directors from the broader organization, which oversees North Hastings Hospital, presented an award to the local team this week.
It’s called the Values in Action award and it’s presented to a person or group at every QHC board meeting. It honours those who embody QHC’s mandate to value all patients.
Patient Services Manager Tammy Davis accepted the award. She said the North Hastings physician group took on extra patients and picked up extra ER shifts to ensure services never stopped, even while they were still dealing with COVID-19 stresses.
They were also dealing with shortage in staff, as one physician who worked in ER recently stopped practicing in the area.
Yet, the ER services remained open 24-seven over the summer, which was crucial given that Bancroft has a dramatic population increase in the summer, due to cottagers.
It’s a notable achievement. According to news reports, emergency departments at other hospitals in the province have closed 86 times due to staffing shortages since July 2.