Latest news with #StClaresMercyHospital
CBC
a day ago
- Health
- CBC
Health minister confident deal will be reached to prevent mass resignations at St. Clare's
Newfoundland and Labrador's health minister said she wasn't fond of the approach, but she expects a deal is "imminent" with a team of doctors who threatened a mass resignation at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital in St. John's. Krista Lynn Howell told reporters Friday afternoon that her department has been working with the provincial health authority and the medical association to find a solution to the problems with internal medicine at the city's second-largest hospital. The five internists warned of an "impending crisis" following the loss of the medical residency program at the hospital — stripping away valuable coverage for 24/7 patient care. "I may disagree with the tactics that were deployed to get us to this point today," Howell said. "But nobody has thrown down and went home. So we do believe that we're in a place right now where a resolution is imminent and we're confident the plan will resolve this issue." Howell gave no particulars, instead deferring to Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA). In a brief comment, Kyle Rees — a lawyer retained by the five doctors — said he's encouraged. "I know the parties are working on it, and that's a positive development. It's something that needs to be taken seriously, and it sounds like that's happening." Doctors threatened resignation before News of the resignation notice caused a frenzy on Friday, but it wasn't the first time the team of physicians has threatened to walk away. CBC Investigates has obtained a letter dated Jan. 1, 2024, in which the internal medicine team at St. Clare's wrote to the premier's office and threatened to withhold services within 20 days. They cited reasons such as "administrative burden, limited resources and an overwhelming patient load," as well as compensation "significantly lower" than the national average. "We understand that our decision to withdraw services may cause inconvenience and disruption to both N.L. Health Services and our patients," they wrote at the time. "However, we firmly believe that this step is necessary to draw attention to the urgent need for change." The letter did not result in a job action — which is prohibited under their collective agreement — but three of the five signatories to the letter no longer work at St. Clare's. Barry Petten, the Progressive Conservative health critic, said he wasn't surprised by the new resignation letter sent on Monday. He said he's had contact with internists from St. Clare's going back to the first resignation threat last year. Petten said he knows the doctors reached out to the last three health ministers — including Premier John Hogan. "And yet, no action," he said. "This is not a new thing. Eighteen months later, there's no action." Howell acknowledged the issue has been ongoing, but said talks have been happening for several months. She said a plan to address their concerns was well underway before they were told the residency program was coming to an end, creating a new problem to overcome. Residency program axed over lack of supervision, MUN says In a statement on Friday, Memorial University said it made the decision to cut the residency program "in the best interest of our residents' training and well-being." The statement said the university's medical school had concerns about "a lack of adequate support and appropriate supervision" for residents, leading to the entire program being terminated. Spokesperson Chad Pelley said some modifications were made as concerns were raised, but they weren't enough to satisfy national standards during an accreditation review last November. Formal notice was given in early 2025, outlining the issues that needed to be resolved. The internal medicine residency at St. Clare's will come to an end on July 1. Howell, meanwhile, said the residency program is important to the hospital, and she's hoping to see it restored in the future.
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
St. Clare's internal medicine doctors give mass resignation notice, warn of 'impending crisis'
Five doctors at a St. John's hospital have tendered a joint notice of resignation, saying their work environment has become "unsafe for both patient care and provider well-being," CBC Investigates has learned. The doctors make up the internal medicine department at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital — responsible for a wide range of critical services provided for both emergency patients and those admitted to the hospital. The letter says the doctors will not be performing any duties outside their contractual obligations — no evenings or weekends — starting on July 1, until their resignation takes effect on Oct. 1. "It has become increasingly clear to them that continuing under the current model would further compromise patient safety and the already fragile well-being of the team," reads the letter, written by lawyer Kyle Rees of O'Dea Earle and sent to the provincial health authority's executive on Monday. Rees declined comment when reached by CBC News on Thursday. In a statement, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services said it cannot comment on the resignation letter, but said it values relationships with all health-care providers, and seeks to ensure patient care remains unchanged by human resources challenges. In the letter, Rees writes that multiple concerns have led to this point, citing a recent decision to remove the hospital's resident support. The doctors feel NLHS has not done enough to find solutions to the reduction of patient coverage resulting from the move. "NLHS has consistently deferred responsibility and failed to provide any substantive plan to address this impending crisis," the letter reads. The five doctors are Michael Jakovac, Olatunji Odumosu, Stephanie Genge, Sanampreet Gurm and Evan Wee. Sources say two others — Leonard Phair and Alex Dias — had previously resigned. Concerns backed by doctors at 2nd St. John's hospital Meanwhile, internists at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's are warning the health authority not to shift the workload to their hospital if the team at St. Clare's resigns en masse. Another letter was sent on Thursday, co-signed by the internal medicine teams at St. Clare's and the Health Sciences Centre. "Transferring the workload to the Health Sciences Centre is also not an option," it reads. "HSC is operating at full capacity, and there is no infrastructure, space or staffing to absorb the additional burden." According to that letter, St. Clare's routinely manages 100 admitted internal medicine patients, along with responsibility for 15 to 20 emergency room consults on a daily basis. The letter also warns that once the resident physician coverage ends on July 1, St. Clare's will not have an effective team in place to handle Code Blue emergencies — cardiac or pulmonary arrest. "Lack of a proper Code Blue team is unsafe and will have disastrous patient outcomes for medical and surgical patients." The teams are calling for "immediate engagement" and want a written response "outlining how N.L. Health Services will ensure safe and sustainable internal medicine coverage at St. Clare's beyond July 1, 2025."
