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Hospitals are doubling and tripling the usual number of patients handled by intensive care nurses as those sick with COVID-19 overwhelm ICU capacity, says the CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO).
“It means that an ICU nurse cannot have the attentive eye as it should be over that one patient,” Doris Grinspun said.
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“I have already heard directly from nurses that blame themselves because a patient died, ‘because if I could have been more with the patient maybe I would have saved him.’ Just picture when this becomes worse and worse and worse.”
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The North Bay Regional Health Centre could receive a “stable COVID-19” patient in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Spokesperson Kim McElroy said the health centre has not yet received a COVID-19 patient transfer from another facility, however that could change in the next day or two.
“Currently NBRHC is in discussions on how our health centre can support hospitals in southern Ontario facing unprecedented critical care volumes,” she said.
“We are waiting on provincial direction from the Ontario Critical Care COVID-19 Command Centre.”
McElroy said the North Bay Regional Health Centre can safely provide care to 16 critical care patients, plus an additional five if required.
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The Brockville General Hospital has been accepting patients from Cornwall to ease the COVID-19-induced pressure on the hospital there.
In a statement by Nick Vlacholias, president and CEO, and Dr. Michael Fuoco, acting chief of staff, the Brockville hospital said it is in the process of accommodating nine patients from Cornwall Community Hospital as part of an Ontariowide plan to share the patient burden from overwhelmed hospitals.
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None of the Cornwall patients, who don’t have COVID, require intensive care, the BGH officials said.
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