Staff shortages force one-day cancellation of blood collection appointments at Waterford Hospital

The cancellation of a day of blood drive appointments at a St. John’s hospital on Tuesday came as no shock to union president Jerry Earle, who said it was just another symptom of an already sick system.

Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, or NAPE, said healthcare professionals and their unions are sounding the alarm over the lack of healthcare resources for several years now.

“We wish that seven or eight years ago people had listened to the outcry from healthcare workers saying we have a problem,” Earle said. « But it was denied at the time. »

Blood collection appointments for outpatients at Waterford Hospital were canceled on Tuesday due to « ongoing human resource challenges », Eastern Health said in a press release.

Patients needing urgent blood tests were referred to St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital, and Eastern Health told people whose appointments had been canceled to reschedule through an appointment scheduling system. you online.

Earle says the St. John’s metro area is short of 10 lab assistant positions. So if some employees call in sick, Earle said, the job falls to the few people left in the system.

In this particular case, Earle said Waterford Hospital was already operating below capacity, so without recall staff able to replace sick staff, an essential service many rely on could not function.

“Every healthcare provider, every healthcare professional plays a vital role in our healthcare system,” Earle said. « And so there’s always a ripple effect when we have a shortage or in this case when we don’t have staff. »

Healthcare workers under ‘tremendous pressure’

Earle says the entire health care system works like a chain – when one of its links breaks, the chain can no longer hold. Tuesday’s closure is therefore indicative of what has been happening in hospitals across the province for some time now, he said.

There are a lot of employees, like lab assistants, that people rely on to provide essential services every day, Earle says. He says these employees face not only stress and pressure, but also illness.

Unfortunately, Earle said, that means other, already overworked employees have to pick up the slack.

« They’re under immense pressure, » Earle said.

“We have many health care workers, including medical laboratory assistants, who are at the point of exhaustion, burnout, getting sick themselves … and they are quite distraught that they cannot continue to provide necessary services. »

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