Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is preparing for a potential strike by Essex-Windsor paramedics.
The hospital’s President and CEO, Bill Marra, says they are looking at alternatives for patient transfers and ways to get ambulances back on the road quickly in the event of a strike.
CUPE Local 2974, representing about 340 paramedics, has set a strike deadline of midnight on Monday, October 5.
Marra says while Hôtel-Dieu doesn’t have an emergency room, like Windsor Regional Hospital or Erie Shores, the Mental Health and Addictions Urgent Crisis Centre (MHAUCC) operates around the clock on Ouellette Avenue and accepts walk-in patients, as well as voluntary drop-offs by police and Essex-Windsor EMS.
Marra says the hospital is encouraging people who can safely get to the centre on their own to do so, which could help preserve EMS capacity for emergency calls.
He says at the end of the day, it’s not about taking sides in this labour dispute but making sure the system moves along as smoothly as possible.
Marra says they rely on EMS for drop-offs at the MHAUCC.
“The way our protocol is established there is we can get wheels on the ground pretty quickly. So it’s really ensuring that if and when they drop off a patient at the Urgent Care Centre, that we do everything possible to facilitate them getting back into the community as soon as possible and that we encourage people that if they can walk-in or find a different way to come to the Urgent Care Centre, to do that.”
He says they also rely on EMS for patient transfers that occur between hospital campuses.
“Our backup plan for that will be if it’s a non-emergency issue, one that doesn’t require necessarily EMS transfer, can we rely on other private operators as well, or can we make other arrangements? So it’s really around supporting the system. There’s 340 EMS workers in this region. They provide a very valuable service.”
Marra says Hôtel-Dieu typically takes in about 50 to 60 patients a week, with roughly 80 per cent coming from Windsor Regional Hospital and the remainder from Erie Shores in Leamington.
He says the hospitals are already communicating regularly with EMS and have demonstrated they can quickly adjust when one facility is under pressure.
“We communicate regularly, at times even daily, throughout the weekend if and when necessary... when matters get escalated, we respond to them quickly. So the working relationship is excellent at the operational level. And so when there are unique circumstances, we do our best to address them and clear up the backlog when we can.”
Windsor Regional Hospital and Erie Shores HealthCare recently stated they are working on contingency plans for if a strike occurs, such as potential up-staffing for nurses and physicians to support quick offloading in the emergency departments.
Marra says Hôtel-Dieu is also prepared to help Windsor Regional Hospital and Erie Shores Healthcare if they face capacity pressures.
The paramedics’ union has been without a collective agreement since conciliation ended in May.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board has approved a 20 per cent reduction in staff if a strike occurs, although that decision is being challenged by the County of Essex.