We've had a shortage of beds for years. The huge expansion didn't include expansion of beds for patients. Lots of room for more administration though. How about converting some of the office space for the sick? Chester

Someone told me if they opened a hundred beds, they would fill a hundred beds. How many beds do we need? You guess. Not my job.

Its true that there is a huge shortage for beds, but this is not new, it's just worse than ever. What I dont understand is why there is a whole floor for sleeping quarters for medical students/doctors, an entire floor completely empty and offices throughout when they could be patient rooms. There are units that were converted BACK INTO patient rooms (they were offices) but it didnt even make a dent. I have a solution: creat more full and part time positions and use the empty but quite useful space that is going to waste as of right now! The way its going now, I wouldnt be surprised that when I go to work next, that there will be bunk-beds installed.

Creating more positions probably won't solve the problem. PGRH said just a few days ago that they have 74 nursing positions vacant and about the same for other health care workers. If they can't fill them, how likely are they to fill new ones.

Also, their "surplus" of just over $3 million is not enough to pay the salaries of the 150 positions that are vacant. They would require over $4 million more just to do that. Creating more positions would require even more money. Health care workers earn $50,000 or more each a year.

The first step is to train more health care workers. Instead all we get is lip service and the "world wide shortage" excuse. Set up training programs throughout the province as soon as possible, next September at the latest for all hospital personnel. At the very least, increase the intake into present programs as much as the system will bear. It will cost money, but do it anyway. Nothing can be done in health care without nurses and paramedicals, so train them. Is that rocket science or a duh?

I think ammonra is bang on. You can't open beds without staff and you can't get staff unless there are people willing and able to work in the field. There simply aren't the medical professionals to hire, they are pretty much all working already.

We have to graduate and hire more people to solve this problem. It also means that we have to attract people to this profession. Like every other labour shortage in every other sector, things WILL get worse folks . . .

I agree NMG,but unfortunately, there are people who COULD work.
But they are new to the country and their qualifications are not recognized here.
The government needs to take steps to fix that, and they also need to make the training for nurses and doctors in B.C.and Canada in general,more affordable and attractive to students.
Training is a long,expensive process simply not affordable to many.
It's not really a difficult problem to fix,but then they would have to pay out more in wages,benefits,operating costs etc.
I don't think our government wants to do that inspite of what they tell us, because they sure don't seem to doing much about it!

Agreed Andyfreeze. I always thought it would be interesting to analyze the option of offering free or substantially reduced tuition for people taking health care studies, as a means to try and attract people to the profession.

Regarding the foreign qualifications, I'm sure allot of it is political as well. So long as the qualifications are comparable to the standards for Canada (some may be, some may not be), then that should be an option we look at.

Many reasons why we do not have enough beds as I can see ti.

I am having a great deal of difficulty finding current information of the size of the hospital at this time from the point of view of beds.

The Northern Interior Regional Health Board site seems to be useless from that point of view.

There is a global doctors guide which states the hospital has 219 acute beds

A community profile from 1993 states the hospital has 311 beds

Neither of those include the Extended Care unit which started out with about 75 beds.

Hospital services have changed considerably throughout North America in the past few decades, with many more outpatient procedures and stays for some surgeries being shortened considerably. There are several clinic which have sprung up to take the beds spaces that used to be there.

I am sure someone working there could explain it in better detail. However, the population is getting older and that may cause a new required change. For that group, the new facility being built on 18th and Victoria may be able to assist a bit if they will provide some short stay beds for the elderly.

Here are some words from an article on changing health practices with respect to hospital stays:

“The typical patient population on internal medicine wards today reflects changes in the approach to hospital care in recent years. Hospitals have responded to the budget cuts of the past decade by closing beds and shifting more patients to outpatient clinics and day hospitals to shorten length of stay. The number of hospital bed-days in Canada fell by 15.6% between 1995 and 2000, while the average length of stay went down by 3.8%. Nowadays, many patients are admitted only long enough to undergo one or more invasive procedures. The diagnostic thinking that used to occur during the hospital stay has taken place before the admission, or it will take place after discharge, when test results become available”

So, which came first, less money, or changes in practice?

Of course, aside from all these other issues there is a relatively simple element that has not been taken into account. Staff morale.

Many, if not most departments at PGRH are extremely poorly managed. "Managers" are simply staff who have been promoted due to seniority or who are effervescent enough to always be positive. Few if any have had management training or are provided the time for management training. I'd not be surprised if this goes all the way to the top.

So, with no management skills, a management style thats akin to kindergarten relationships and constantly changing reporting and responsibility (with no apparent accountability) why would we expect people to want to work in that environment. And yes, word does get around.

PGRH is having difficulty retaining staff, no wonder there is a challenge with recruiting.

And, if they can not manage people, how on earth could we expect them to effectively manage patient care issues?

GREAT point hyperbole.

If there is a problem with morale and keeping staff,there is usually a problem at the top.
Maybe it's time for a house cleaning there?

How many people are there that actually want to be a nurse or an L.P.N.? I certainly wouldn't want the job. I could not imagine cleaning up after people and other assorted jobs every day. I had three children that I raised and changed diapers,cleaned up vomit, etc. I would not want to do that for anyone else, I don't care what the wage is. It takes a special kind of person to do this, and there obviously aren't enough to go around.

Too bad everyone in the the whole world ain't a Mother Teresa. Aah, a perfect world.