Chronic staff shortages in Manitoba’s health-care system are being blamed for a year-over-year spike in critical incidents in hospitals and other settings.
The death of an emergency-room patient who experienced a delay in treatment, a person who died by suicide while in care and surgery on the wrong body part were among 112 critical incidents, including 22 deaths, listed in three new quarterly reports released by the province Friday.
“The theme or the trend that I’m seeing is a lack of oversight on patients due to staffing shortages,” Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said after reviewing the reports. “There are many instances of had there been enough staff to have proper oversight, then these issues would not have occurred.”
Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, said “it’s certain” many incidents were related to shortages.
“That can lead to dangerous situations for patients and front-line health-care professionals,” he said.
Delays, missed opportunities, errors or falls were among the most common factors in incidents that resulted in serious and unintended harm to patients.
Published online, the newest reports cover the first three quarters (Jan. 1-Sept. 30) of 2023. The total of 112 critical incidents was about 25 per cent higher than that of the same nine-month period in 2022. A similar number of deaths occurred.
The Q1-Q3 total in 2023 was roughly 15 per cent lower than that of 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic put immense pressure on the health-care system and staff.
Critical incidents related to COVID-19 outbreaks in hospitals or personal-care homes were reported as groups in 2021 and 2022, the reports state.
Limited descriptions are given for each incident. Reports do not describe any measures taken to prevent similar deaths or injuries.
Names, specific medical conditions, dates, locations or other information that could identify patients or staff are withheld.
Shared Health previously released details of a February 2023 critical incident at HSC in which a man died while waiting for care in an ER hallway.
The overcrowded ER was dealing with a surge in patients. Recommendations intended to improve patient assessments and ease congestion were implemented.
In three other incidents at undisclosed locations, a patient died after a medical device failed, one died after falling from a transfer device and another died after a postponed elective surgery “resulted in a serious outcome.”
Of the non-fatal incidents, a client developed a skin wound that resulted in amputation, and a patient ended up in hospital after being given the wrong medication.
“We cannot afford to lose people while we’re figuring out how to solve the problem.”–Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals
Jackson and Linklater said retention and recruitment of staff and improvements to working conditions must be prioritized during efforts to shore up health-care ranks.
“We cannot afford to lose people while we’re figuring out how to solve the problem,” said Linklater.
The NDP has promised to hire at least 1,000 more health workers this year and improve workplace culture in this, its first, term in office
“Patient safety is certainly a top priority for us as government, but we also know it’s the top priority of health-care workers on the front lines,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said at an unrelated event at HSC. “They want their patients to be as safe as possible. Everybody wants to see patients have the best possible outcomes.”
More mistakes occur when staff are working “overtime shift after overtime shift,” the minister added.
“Adding staffing at the bedside and on the front lines is going to help us stabilize some of those challenges that we’re seeing,” said Asagwara.
The government has also promised a new retention and recruitment office, more wellness supports and some incentives to retain staff.
Linklater said he would welcome more support for workplace safety committees.
The latest critical incident reports cover the final months of the previous Progressive Conservative government and part of the campaign leading up to October’s election. The Tories did not respond to a request for comment.
Investigations are required after critical incidents in a bid to prevent similar circumstances. The findings are to be shared within the health system.
“Recommendations come from those (investigations), that are then appointed to someone who ensures they get developed and implemented,” said Dr. Manon Pelletier, HSC’s chief medical officer. “Sometimes it’s an entire sitewide rollout of teachings, so it can take some time, but they do occur.
“All of those learnings go back to the unit where it occurred or to a larger site, depending on what the learning is from that event.”
The province stopped publishing recommendations, or patient safety learning advisories, in 2019, when the PCs were in government.
The NDP is working on a new online format for critical incident reports and recommendations.
A provincial spokesperson said critical incident reports are now being posted within six months, rather than one year.
Linklater said the province can be more transparent, while protecting privacy, to help people understand critical incidents and hold the government and health authorities accountable.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
As a general assignment reporter, Chris covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.