Hundreds of Hamilton hospital staff in self-isolation after travelling

With hundreds of healthcare workers sidelined in self-isolation, Hamilton Public Health is weighing the impacts on care and carefully considering whether any exceptions will be necessary to cover staff shortages.

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton says more than 100 staff and doctors were listed as travelling over the spring break and would have just returned.

"Our managers are working diligently with our team members to ensure that coverage is maintained for our patients," said Brian Guest, acting vice president of human resources at St. Joe's

"At this time we are meeting staffing requirements," he added, thanking staff for their efforts.

A similar number of physicians and workers at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) are also in mandatory self-isolation because of international travel.

Though, a HHS spokesperson noted, the number of staff is "constantly changing" as people cycle through the 14-day, self-isolation period.

Concerns around staffing are being actively considered by the city's hospitals, said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of health, Monday.

She pointed to mixed messages from the province that initially created some confusion about whether or not healthcare workers needed to isolate, even if they didn't have symptoms of COVID-19.

The province has since clarified that anyone who travelled outside the country must isolate for 14 days.

But on Monday Richardson said some exceptions are still possible.

"I think it's pretty clear right now in terms of self-isolation, if there are critical shortages for staff they are permitted to come back in as long as they are taking some very strict precautions while they're off," she explained.

That's a situation Dr. Michael Stacey, chief medical executive at HHS, raised during an update Thursday.

We do have unique ... situations, where there is a distinct shortage of a particular skill set," he said. "And if we have a staff member who is asymptomatic and whose skill set is critical to treating a patient, there is a possibility of them being asked to come back, but wearing a mask the entire time they're in the organization."

Stacey added what to do about staff returning from trips aboard is something both hospitals had been "grappling with."

Halting elective procedures helped

Richardson said pulling back on elective procedures and non-essential care has freed up many healthcare workers for "really important work."

It also means "all the personal protective equipment is conserved for those who need it the most."

"There's extensive health human resources planning that's going on across the system right now to look at what we can do," she said.

As Hamilton's hospitals continue to weigh staffing, the true impact of isolation after vacations isn't yet clear for the city either.

Paul Johnson, who's heading up Hamilton's emergency operations centre, said staff didn't ask people where they were planning to travel before spring break.

That means that while they have "some anecdotal notion" of who travelled outside the country, officials are still working to determine exactly how many workers will need to stay away for 14 days.