ICU patients diverted from Hamilton General Hospital due to staff shortage

The Hamilton General Hospital has started diverting patients from its Intensive Care Unit as the healthcare centre continues to battle a nursing crisis.

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is calling the situation “dynamic” due to the complexity of recruiting and training nurses in a short period of time, leading the hospital to make the decision to only run at two-thirds capacity for its critical care beds.

HHS says the diversion of patients to other healthcare facilities began last Saturday up until Wednesday afternoon. While the exact number of patients affected hasn’t been confirmed, they say the numbers remain in the single digits.

All patients that have been taken to alternative facilities were from outside of the Hamilton region.

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HHS additionally confirmed that while the Hamilton General has a 60 bed capacity in its critical care centre, it has been operating around 45 to 50 beds for the past several months.

Dr. Craig Ainsworth of Hamilton Health Sciences tells CHCH News there are “chronic health human resources challenges, especially with nursing staff and in ICUs”.

The hospital has confirmed that local patients and those requiring care that is specialized in at the General were not redirected and they remain committed to providing top care for all patients during this shortage.

HHS tells CHCH News that they have been working alongside the province while transporting patients during this time.

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