BRAMPTON - Provincial supervisor Ken White marked his first six-months as head of Brampton Civic Hospital (BCH) by meeting with some 40 surgeons Thursday in a bid to clear the air about how to improve operations at the beleaguered facility. "A number of surgeons are having issues with the new structure and patient flow and it's just not really efficient," said White prior to yesterday's meeting. "I met with them going back several months ago and they put a number of issues on the table. I think most of the issues we have resolved, but I guess... there are a few more that they want to talk to me about." White said he set up the meeting with surgeons after several came forward with concerns a couple weeks ago. Patient flow is at the top of the list of concerns. "There just seems to be a number of bottlenecks. Every time one of those barriers occurs surgery is off in terms of start time and finish time. And when that happens it impacts the next surgery and the next surgery and the next surgery. It's like a set of dominoes. "We have to figure out how we can efficiently flow a patient from pre-surgery, through to surgery and post-surgery, and then on up to their bed. Just in that flow alone there are a number of areas impacted (slowing down the entire process) and we need to find out how to improve that." Patient complaints have received the bulk of attention to this point, but White said staff members have also been vocal about issues at BCH. Several departments have vented their grievances, and suggestions on how to improve things, which White said is a necessary process in efforts to fix problems at the facility. "What I am really trying to do here is get staff engaged rather than have things being managed from the top down," he said. I would like the teams to find their own solutions as opposed to having solutions imposed on them." Brampton Civic, which replaced the now-closed Peel Memorial Hospital on October 28, found itself at the centre of controversy when residents complained of long emergency wait times and a lack of compassion shown by frontline staff. Also, two deaths at the hospital provoked a barrage of complaints. More than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Brampton to protest problems they claimed contributed to the deaths of patients Harnek Sidhu, who died of pancreatitis, and Amarjit Narwal, who suffered a stroke. White, who took the reigns from William Osler Health Centre CEO Bob Richards, is tasked with setting things right at the hospital. As such, several initiatives are underway to restore public confidence in Brampton Civic. When it opened, the hospital experienced a 21 per cent jump in emergency department visits compared to the volume at Peel Memorial. Although that volume has increased by another 15 per cent, average waiting time has decreased from 212 minutes in December to 180 minutes- more in line with the provincial average. An urgent care centre will open in the fall to deal with less serious ailments, freeing up the emergency department. Space has been created within the emergency department for patients who have major but not life-threatening ailments. The hospital has worked at setting higher standards for behaviour toward patients. If there's a valid grievance, management will not act as a buffer. The staff person involved in the incident is required to apologize to the complainant directly. William Osler is trying to reallocate physician time to accommodate typical high volume or rush periods, and do routine tests during early and late-day hours when there's less pressure on the system. Community advisory councils will be established this fall for better local communication. The hospital has also launched a campaign to hire 200 nurses in 200 days in order to address the overall shortage in nursing professionals. So far, William Osler has hired more than 50 nurses as a result of the drive. With files from Torstar News Network.
Print this article
Email this article
