Eleven doctors issue warning in signed letter from Salt Spring Island hospital
Staff at Lady Minto Hospital are speaking out on a major staffing shortage.
A group of eleven doctors from Salt Spring Island’s only hospital released an urgent communique Friday concerning a shortage of physicians at their medical facility.
The letter, issued through the community’s local publication, The Driftwood, outlines four significant deficiencies in the facility’s emergency department.
It starts by pointing out that the hospital emergency room is facing a severe shortage of physicians, saying there are currently 25 12-hour shifts that are going uncovered from now until the end of August.
On top of that, residents are finding themselves without an on-site physician at the hospital’s emergency department, and they’re warning that there’s no easy alternative as Lady Minto Hospital is the only facility in the region. They say that despite the lack of any on-site physicians, the emergency department remains able to provide medical assessments.
“Unfortunately, the emergency department is as busy as ever due to the very high number of unattached patients that have no family doctor and the increasing medical complexity of the aging population of Salt Spring Island,” reads the letter.
The shortage at the facility stretches beyond just the emergency room. The letter says the hospital is also faced with a shortage of specialized healthcare services in the form of a lack of maternal services and psychiatry.
“The absence of key specialty staff on Salt Spring Island is negatively impacting patient care and our community. Your support and public knowledge are needed to work through this crisis and come together with solutions,” ends the letter.
The letter highlights an ongoing issue affecting the entire region, and comes as an overloaded healthcare system continues to show strain from shortages, burnout and closures.
Just in April, Cormorant Island’s emergency room shuttered for the third time this year.
READ MORE: Cormorant Island emergency department to have weekend closures again
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