Quebec plan to reduce surgery backlog 'naive' when hospitals are so short staffed: doctor
CTV
A new ambitious plan by the government to reduce the backlog of surgeries in Quebec is 'naive' and implausible because of severe staff shortages and exhaustion, according to the director of an anesthesiology department at a Montreal hospital.
A new ambitious plan by the government to reduce the backlog of surgeries in Quebec is "naive" and implausible because of severe staff shortages and exhaustion, according to the director of an anesthesiology department at a Montreal hospital.
The idea is laudable, said Dr. Francesco Donatelli, director of anesthesia at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH), but its success will vary from hospital to hospital and he thinks overall it will only make a dent in the numbers.
More than 17,000 Quebecers have been waiting more than a year for an operation.The plan aims to reduce the number of patients waiting for surgery for more than a year to a pre-pandemic level of 2,500 by Dec. 31, 2024.
The project developed in collaboration with the Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists (FMSQ) hinges on several elements, chief among them, the hope that surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, respiratory therapists and other professionals will agree to work some nights, weekends and statutory holidays voluntarily.
"I can talk very well for my hospital, the Montreal General, and the situation. It's very tough because we have multiple shortages of manpower at different levels…we are short anesthetists. We are short, less now, respiratory therapists, we are short for nurse in recovery room, on the floors," Donatelli said.
He said he knows, for example, the University of Montreal Hospital (CHUM) has enough anesthesiologists but is short of respiratory therapists.
"And so when you have such a broad spectrum or shortage, to think to fix the problem with volunteering, it's kind of naive," Donatelli said.
