ALLISTON, ONTARIO - Due to continuing staff shortages, obstetrical nurses at Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) will continue their shared care deployment in other areas of the hospital for the next few weeks.

Shared care is the term applied when nurses work in areas other than their preferred choice. SMH uses a Shared Care Service Delivery Model to ensure the best utilization of resources to deliver quality patient care. The premise of the model is cooperation between departments to meet the immediate needs of patients.

"Health human resources are stretched right across the province," said Edward Takacs, President and CEO of the hospital. "We recognize and appreciate the efforts of our staff in participating in the shared care model, in service to the community."

Previous communications to staff and the community indicated that the redeployment would be for a four-week period. However, the continuing shortage has necessitated a continuation of the redeployment and staff have been made aware of the on-going situation.

In a meeting of the obstetrical nurses held last week, the majority agreed that either it was the best option, or that for the good of the hospital and community, there was no choice but to continue with the current redeployment.

After consultation with the obstetrical nursing staff, schedules will be posted every two weeks to replace the current summer schedule that was to end September 30, 2007. It reflects, where possible, the nurses preferred areas. Staff will continue to be involved in the scheduling options, with patients as the priority.

"We look forward to the day when the Obstetrics Unit will reopen and nurses will be back in their chosen area of practice. We hope it will be as soon as possible and thank the staff and the community for their patience," Takacs said.