She was prepared for the birth at the hospital, but she is not there to go. Her husband is on the phone with a nurse at a hospital in the small town of Winchester in North Dundas, Ont., trying to figure out where to drive. They should already be heading to Winchester, but his maternity unit is closed for the night due to staff shortages. Duval knows the baby is coming. She cannot stop her body’s contractions or slow them down. “It was definitely the scariest moment of my life,” she said. After the fight that ensued, the couple want people to know that health care in the province is in urgent need of repair and that staffing problems extend beyond some emergency hospitals. “I should be here to relax and recover from the birth and enjoy my baby. But I’m so mad that this happened to me, and I’m so upset that this could happen to someone else, that I feel like I have to say something about it,” he said. A short umbilical cord that couldn’t be moved by hand wrapped around Kayce Duval’s neck when he was born and had to be cut. His parents wonder what would have happened if they had been driving at the time. (Jean Delisle/CBC) Until a week before her Nov. 20 due date, Duval had no idea that her hospital’s maternity unit might just go out of business. She discovered it by accident during a routine checkup with her obstetrician and gynecologist (ob-gyn). Duvall, her husband and four-year-old daughter live in the small community of Russell, Ontario in eastern Ontario, half an hour’s drive southeast of downtown Ottawa. The couple chose to have their second child at Winchester District Memorial Hospital, also half an hour’s drive away, because of its strong reputation in obstetrics. The staff at the maternity office told her they were running late. the doctor had to help women who needed admission and couldn’t go to the hospital that night because the labor ward didn’t have enough staff to stay open. Now I feel like everything is at risk again because we may not have help right now, when the time comes.- Kendra Duval Duval, “blindsided” by what she heard, asked what would happen to her in this situation. She was told that the hospitals regularly communicate with each other, another hospital would take her if needed and not to worry. But he was worried. She had recently suffered a miscarriage and was being closely monitored as a result. And this time, COVID-19 and other viruses left her sick on multiple occasions. “I told my husband, I’ve spent nine, 10 months doing everything I can to protect this baby and make sure he’s safe. And now I feel like everything’s at risk again because maybe we won’t have help right now, whenever the time comes.” . Winchester District Memorial Hospital said closing its maternity unit “is the safest option” for both patients and staff when there are insufficient staff. (Jean Delisle/CBC) When the time came – on the evening of November 22, after two days of premature labor – the Winchester birth unit was due to close from 11pm to 7am due to staff shortages. “These short-term closures usually happen a few times a year, but with staffing challenges affecting all of health care, it happened more often earlier this year and into the summer,” hospital spokeswoman Jane Addams told CBC News in an email. “In November, the unit was closed six times, for eight to 12 hours, each time due to staffing issues.” Across the province this year, 25 hospitals have temporarily closed their maternity units at least once since July 6 (when Ontario Health began tracking the problem) due to staff shortages. Ontario Health will not provide a list of hospitals that have closed maternity units.
Another hospital could take them, but then it couldn’t
Duvall was short of the limit to be admitted when she arrived at the Winchester hospital before the maternity unit closed. The nurse who had been checking her progress for the past two days told her to come back in the morning to have her water broken if it didn’t happen on its own. “I burst into tears. I said, ‘I’m really afraid it’s coming, that something’s going to happen in the night and you’re going to be locked up,’” Duval recalled. So the nurse arranged paperwork for Duval to go to Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital if the labor went ahead, Duval said. About 45 minutes after returning home her water broke. Her husband called Montfort to say he was on his way, but Montfort said he was out of room and to call The Ottawa Hospital General Campus instead. Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital said it is facing nurse shortages like other hospitals in Ontario and that maternity units closing at nearby hospitals are “affecting us as well.” (Jonathan Dupaul/Radio-Canada) Duval’s partner called the nurse at Winchester. The General didn’t have space either, he reported, but Ottawa’s Queensway Carleton Hospital did. It was an hour away. “She could hear me screaming in the background, so she ended up telling my husband, come back to Winchester, I’m going to reevaluate you. And if we need to, maybe we can get an ambulance to take you,” Duval said. They arrived at the ER to be re-registered. It was too late to go anywhere else. “I was completely panicked. I was out of sorts… Everything was happening so fast. I kept telling them… I can’t do this, I’m going to die, I just didn’t feel safe,” Duval recalled. The nurse guided her, with another loan nurse and ER doctor, until an obstetrician showed up 40 minutes later just in time to deliver the baby. I don’t think anyone deserves to be put in this situation. not me as a mother, but not her as someone just trying to do her job.- Kendra Duval A short umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck—too short to be moved by hand. He had to be cut while the labor was still going on and then the staff worked on him for 15 minutes to make sure he was okay. Duvall said the staff was “amazing” — she and her husband are not upset with the hospital at all — but that the situation was unfair to everyone. “[The nurse] he sent me home as safe as he could at the moment, only to find me back there… totally erratic, full on work, no time to spare. I don’t think anyone deserves to be put in this situation. not me as a mother, but not her as someone just trying to do her job,” she said. “They’ve gone above and beyond for us, but we think our system has failed us as a whole, and it’s failed them as well,” added Ken Duval. Six-day-old Kayce Duval is held by his mother at their home in Russell, Ont., on Nov. 29. (Jean Delisle/CBC)
“We deserve better than this”
Last week, Ontario’s five largest health care unions announced that staff turnover is nearly 15 per cent and hospitals need to hire 47,000 people to fix the problem and meet the needs of a growing, aging population. They also warned the province that it was trying to cap wage increases at one per cent. The province announced Thursday that a record number of nurses — nearly 14,000 — had registered in Ontario so far in 2022 and that it was investing $14 million to register more. Duval said health care staff deserve more money and appreciation to attract workers. “Without these people, where are we? They deserve more respect than that, and as normal people just trying to raise a family, we deserve better than that. Something has to change, and it has to change now,” he said. “I’m just scared, scared that health care is going to fail me again, fail [my son].” WATCHES | The Duvals’ experience in Eastern Ontario:
New parents say the health care system has failed them
Kendra and Ken Duval said hospital staff “did the best with what they had” to help the couple deliver their son after the closure of a maternity hospital upended their birth plan.
Closing the unit “the safest option,” the hospital says
In a statement, the Ontario Ministry of Health said it expects hospitals “to ensure that all impacts are considered as they work to provide the most appropriate range and quality of health care services and programs for patients and residents, within available resources.” Families are encouraged to talk with health care providers “and work together to develop an approach that ensures patients get the right care when needed.” None of the hospitals involved would immediately comment on Duval’s condition, citing patient confidentiality. Winchester Hospital said it is “making every effort” to find another hospital for patients when the maternity unit closes and closing “is the safest option” when there are insufficient staff. She hopes her “nearly full” staff will reduce closings. Montfort Hospital said it can usually accommodate all patients in its birth center, but when many people are already admitted, “we may not be able to provide the level of care that everyone needs.” “Like other hospitals in the province, Montfort is experiencing a shortage of nurses. The closure of maternity wards at neighboring hospitals is affecting us as well,” his statement said. A nurse walks towards a patient in an emergency department in Toronto in January. Ontario’s five largest health care unions say hospitals need to hire 47,000 people to deal with staff turnover and meet the needs of a growing, aging population. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
title: “Parents Have Left In Disarray As Staff Shortages Close Maternity Units " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-01” author: “Agnes Gamble”
She was prepared for the birth at the hospital, but she is not there to go. Her husband is on the phone with a nurse at a hospital in the small town of Winchester in North Dundas, Ont., trying to figure out where to drive. They should already be heading to Winchester, but his maternity unit is closed for the night due to staff shortages. Duval knows the baby is coming. She cannot stop her body’s contractions or slow them down. “It was definitely the scariest moment of my life,” she said. After the fight that ensued, the couple want people to know that health care in the province is in urgent need of repair and that staffing problems extend beyond some emergency hospitals. “I should be here to relax and recover from the birth and enjoy my baby. But I’m so mad that this happened to me, and I’m so upset that this could happen to someone else, that I feel like I have to say something about it,” he said. A short umbilical cord that couldn’t be moved by hand wrapped around Kayce Duval’s neck when he was born and had to be cut. His parents wonder what would have happened if they had been driving at the time. (Jean Delisle/CBC) Until a week before her Nov. 20 due date, Duval had no idea that her hospital’s maternity unit might just go out of business. She discovered it by accident during a routine checkup with her obstetrician and gynecologist (ob-gyn). Duvall, her husband and four-year-old daughter live in the small community of Russell, Ontario in eastern Ontario, half an hour’s drive southeast of downtown Ottawa. The couple chose to have their second child at Winchester District Memorial Hospital, also half an hour’s drive away, because of its strong reputation in obstetrics. The staff at the maternity office told her they were running late. the doctor had to help women who needed admission and couldn’t go to the hospital that night because the labor ward didn’t have enough staff to stay open. Now I feel like everything is at risk again because we may not have help right now, when the time comes.- Kendra Duval Duval, “blindsided” by what she heard, asked what would happen to her in this situation. She was told that the hospitals regularly communicate with each other, another hospital would take her if needed and not to worry. But he was worried. She had recently suffered a miscarriage and was being closely monitored as a result. And this time, COVID-19 and other viruses left her sick on multiple occasions. “I told my husband, I’ve spent nine, 10 months doing everything I can to protect this baby and make sure he’s safe. And now I feel like everything’s at risk again because maybe we won’t have help right now, whenever the time comes.” . Winchester District Memorial Hospital said closing its maternity unit “is the safest option” for both patients and staff when there are insufficient staff. (Jean Delisle/CBC) When the time came – on the evening of November 22, after two days of premature labor – the Winchester birth unit was due to close from 11pm to 7am due to staff shortages. “These short-term closures usually happen a few times a year, but with staffing challenges affecting all of health care, it happened more often earlier this year and into the summer,” hospital spokeswoman Jane Addams told CBC News in an email. “In November, the unit was closed six times, for eight to 12 hours, each time due to staffing issues.” Across the province this year, 25 hospitals have temporarily closed their maternity units at least once since July 6 (when Ontario Health began tracking the problem) due to staff shortages. Ontario Health will not provide a list of hospitals that have closed maternity units.
Another hospital could take them, but then it couldn’t
Duvall was short of the limit to be admitted when she arrived at the Winchester hospital before the maternity unit closed. The nurse who had been checking her progress for the past two days told her to come back in the morning to have her water broken if it didn’t happen on its own. “I burst into tears. I said, ‘I’m really afraid it’s coming, that something’s going to happen in the night and you’re going to be locked up,’” Duval recalled. So the nurse arranged paperwork for Duval to go to Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital if the labor went ahead, Duval said. About 45 minutes after returning home her water broke. Her husband called Montfort to say he was on his way, but Montfort said he was out of room and to call The Ottawa Hospital General Campus instead. Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital said it is facing nurse shortages like other hospitals in Ontario and that maternity units closing at nearby hospitals are “affecting us as well.” (Jonathan Dupaul/Radio-Canada) Duval’s partner called the nurse at Winchester. The General didn’t have space either, he reported, but Ottawa’s Queensway Carleton Hospital did. It was an hour away. “She could hear me screaming in the background, so she ended up telling my husband, come back to Winchester, I’m going to reevaluate you. And if we need to, maybe we can get an ambulance to take you,” Duval said. They arrived at the ER to be re-registered. It was too late to go anywhere else. “I was completely panicked. I was out of sorts… Everything was happening so fast. I kept telling them… I can’t do this, I’m going to die, I just didn’t feel safe,” Duval recalled. The nurse guided her, with another loan nurse and ER doctor, until an obstetrician showed up 40 minutes later just in time to deliver the baby. I don’t think anyone deserves to be put in this situation. not me as a mother, but not her as someone just trying to do her job.- Kendra Duval A short umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck—too short to be moved by hand. He had to be cut while the labor was still going on and then the staff worked on him for 15 minutes to make sure he was okay. Duvall said the staff was “amazing” — she and her husband are not upset with the hospital at all — but that the situation was unfair to everyone. “[The nurse] he sent me home as safe as he could at the moment, only to find me back there… totally erratic, full on work, no time to spare. I don’t think anyone deserves to be put in this situation. not me as a mother, but not her as someone just trying to do her job,” she said. “They’ve gone above and beyond for us, but we think our system has failed us as a whole, and it’s failed them as well,” added Ken Duval. Six-day-old Kayce Duval is held by his mother at their home in Russell, Ont., on Nov. 29. (Jean Delisle/CBC)
“We deserve better than this”
Last week, Ontario’s five largest health care unions announced that staff turnover is nearly 15 per cent and hospitals need to hire 47,000 people to fix the problem and meet the needs of a growing, aging population. They also warned the province that it was trying to cap wage increases at one per cent. The province announced Thursday that a record number of nurses — nearly 14,000 — had registered in Ontario so far in 2022 and that it was investing $14 million to register more. Duval said health care staff deserve more money and appreciation to attract workers. “Without these people, where are we? They deserve more respect than that, and as normal people just trying to raise a family, we deserve better than that. Something has to change, and it has to change now,” he said. “I’m just scared, scared that health care is going to fail me again, fail [my son].” WATCHES | The Duvals’ experience in Eastern Ontario:
New parents say the health care system has failed them
Kendra and Ken Duval said hospital staff “did the best with what they had” to help the couple deliver their son after the closure of a maternity hospital upended their birth plan.
Closing the unit “the safest option,” the hospital says
In a statement, the Ontario Ministry of Health said it expects hospitals “to ensure that all impacts are considered as they work to provide the most appropriate range and quality of health care services and programs for patients and residents, within available resources.” Families are encouraged to talk with health care providers “and work together to develop an approach that ensures patients get the right care when needed.” None of the hospitals involved would immediately comment on Duval’s condition, citing patient confidentiality. Winchester Hospital said it is “making every effort” to find another hospital for patients when the maternity unit closes and closing “is the safest option” when there are insufficient staff. She hopes her “nearly full” staff will reduce closings. Montfort Hospital said it can usually accommodate all patients in its birth center, but when many people are already admitted, “we may not be able to provide the level of care that everyone needs.” “Like other hospitals in the province, Montfort is experiencing a shortage of nurses. The closure of maternity wards at neighboring hospitals is affecting us as well,” his statement said. A nurse walks towards a patient in an emergency department in Toronto in January. Ontario’s five largest health care unions say hospitals need to hire 47,000 people to deal with staff turnover and meet the needs of a growing, aging population. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
