'We're going to need more ICU capacity': Manitoba doctors say federal government needs to send additional help

Two Manitoba critical care physicians are encouraged the Manitoba government is asking for additional ICU nurses.

However, Dr. Dan Roberts and Dr. Eric Jacobsohn told CTV News Tuesday the request for 15-30 ICU nurses from the federal government is woefully inadequate.

“Minister Gordon indicated that the reason for the request was to increase ICU capacity and also allow for previously redesignated or redeployed staff to go back to surgical ORs and endoscopy suites and clinics,” said Dr. Roberts who wrote an open letter earlier this week alerting Manitobans about the critical state of the province’s ICUs.

“My response to that number is that you can do a little of one or a little of the other, but you can’t do both,” he said.

Roberts said if you use at the maximum number of 30 nurses in the federal request in the intensive care units, that would allow for six or seven additional ICU beds.

The other option is to use those 30 nurses to relieve redeployed nurses who have been helping out in the ICUs and send those staff back to their original jobs.

“You cannot do both, you can get six or seven ICU beds, or you can redeploy some staff and not open up any ICU beds,” Dr. Roberts explained.

Roberts said he expects several hundred more ICU COVID-19 cases over the next couple of months from the Southern Health region alone given the low vaccination rate.

“We are going to need more ICU capacity than that to weather the oncoming storm.”

Dr. Jacobsohn said that asking for additional nurses is an important step to recognize that there is a problem.

“Is eight to 10 beds going to bail is out? Not this month,” he said. “We need a dramatically increased number.”

Jacobsohn said it’ll take time to find these 15-30 nurses, bring them to Manitoba, get them trained and open up the units.

He said the daily problem in Manitoba is ICU capacity is close to 100 per cent, meaning if 10 more patients come in over one or two days there may not be room.

“So, therefore, it is an expectation of the ICU doctors and front-line workers that other immediate ICU facilities are made available, whether that be somewhere to the east or west of us or frankly somewhere to the south of us,” he said.

Roberts said adding additional nurses is like calling in the fire department. What also needs to be done to tame the flames is turning off the gas by enforcing public health restrictions in communities with low vaccination levels.

“I think that is going to be absolutely critical. Omicron is coming, it’s hit Ontario, it’s going to be the dominant strain in the next week or two there. We are sure to follow very soon and that puts a whole new dimension on this,” Dr. Roberts said.

Jacobsohn said Omicron is showing to be more transmissible than the Delta variant and there could be chaos with infectivity in the under-vaccinated regions of Manitoba.

“And those will absolutely overwhelm our community, and therefore, the proposed fix on the care side, on the number of ICU beds is likely way, way underestimated of what is going to be needed,” he said.

“Unless public health edicts are enforced in the south, the implications for patients, for Manitoba, is going to be catastrophic, including those patients that are trying to be dealt with on the waitlist task force.” 

In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for Shared Health said staffing resources continue to feel the pressure throughout the pandemic.

They said work is underway to support the increased capacity in the ICUs, including nurse training sessions, more nurses enrolled in the critical care nursing orientation program and ongoing patient transfers.

"Patients in ICU continue to receive excellent care from dedicated and highly skilled staff. Nursing to patient ratios vary and are based on patient acuity and staffing levels. These can fluctuate throughout the day," the spokesperson said.