Letter signed by 45 doctors says patient safety at Winnipeg hospital 'severely compromised'

Doctors at Winnipeg’s Grace Hospital have written a letter to Manitoba’s health minister, sounding an alarm on staffing shortages.

The letter, signed by 45 doctors at the hospital and obtained by CTV News Winnipeg was sent on Thursday. It asks Audrey Gordon to step in and fund a position to help ensure patient safety overnight at the hospital.

“Our members are concerned for the well-being of our patients and our continued ability to provide high quality complex care. We cannot emphasize enough that patient safety remains severely compromised at the Grace Hospital because of the current inadequate response and commitment to properly fund a position,” the letter reads. “This is below the standard of medical care that Manitobans deserve.”

The letter states that overnight resident physicians were removed from the hospital, but said there has since been an increase in baseline safety concerns and a rise in critical incident reports. The letter added that an ICU hospitalist was put in place this winter to help, but that position is slated to end on March 31.

The doctors have concerns about the plan.

“This service was not dedicated to the approximately 100 acutely ill medical patients and not set up to catch and prevent clinical deterioration prior to requiring ICU care,” the letter reads. “The situation has become so severe that some of our section members no longer feel comfortable working at Grace Hospital, recognizing the lack of patient safety which occurs after hours in that building.”

According to the letter, staff at Grace Hospital submitted a proposal to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to fund an overnight hospitalist to help with after-hours care. The doctors said the WRHA approved it, but then retracted their approval for unclear reasons.

A WRHA spokesperson said they are aware of the concerns and are working with doctors and site leadership to find solutions to keep patients safe.

“Last week, the WRHA approved additional physician resources for the site. Grace Hospital has been notified that they can hire additional physician assistants and one Hospital Medical Officer (HMO) for the overnight shift on the acute medicine ward,” the spokesperson wrote in a prepared statement.

“We see the contributions of our staff and are thankful for their tremendous dedication to their patients and to one another. We are committed to addressing the challenges they face.”