Winnipeg sees sharp jump in health-care staff off sick: Shared Health
There has been a sharp jump in the number of health-care staff off sick in Winnipeg, with around 146,000 hours lost over two weeks due to staff absences.
A spokesperson for Shared Health said in the most recent two-week pay period ending Jan. 12, there were nearly 73,000 hours lost per week due to staff absences. The spokesperson said this is an increase of more than 20 per cent compared to the previous two-week pay period.
"High levels of COVID activity in our province are continuing to impact our workforce in the same way it is hitting others in the province, resulting in a significant increase in staff off sick over the past two weeks," the spokesperson said in a written statement.
They said, to put it another way, the staff absences amount to an additional 1,625 eight-hour shifts lost per week in the most recent pay period, compared to the previous one.
Compared to the same time last year, an additional 4,260 eight-hour shifts were lost per week.
"Compared to that pre-pandemic pay period, the Winnipeg health region has seen an 88 per cent increase in time lost to illness or absence in the most recent pay period," they said.
The spokesperson said this sick time is not broken down by reason for absence, and so Shared Health cannot say how many health-care workers have or are recovering from COVID-19, or how many staff are in isolation.
"The health-care system is responding to increased sick rates in a variety of ways, including redeploying and reassigning existing staff as needed," the spokesperson said.
They said since the beginning of December, there has been 52 staff deployed to personal care homes, including 18 in the past two weeks, along with hundreds of staff who have been deployed to acute care and other service areas since September.
"Additionally, health-care workers have been offered payment in lieu of vacation time for any staff who have scheduled time off during the month of January," they said, adding the shortened isolation period for asymptomatic staff has also boosted staffing numbers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.