VALUES IN ACTION
An epic effort by medical and other staff at North Hastings Hospital, along with community paramedics, police officers, and
firefighters, was recognized at a Quinte Health Board of Directors meeting in Bancroft on Tuesday.
The group received the board’s Values in Action Award.
On July 23, a terrible collision on Highway 28E sent several people to North Hastings Hospital.
Medical staff and others handled the situation professionally with some staying after their shifts had finished
and others returning from home to care for the injured.
The trauma team at Kingston General Hospital received special mention for its work as patients were
transferred there from Bancroft.
NORTH HASTINGS FUND DEVELOPMENT
Some people may not know that medical equipment in hospitals is not paid for by the government. It’s
bought by donations from residents living in the communities a hospital serves.
And the North Hastings Hospital Fund Development Committee is hard at work trying to meet its $1.25
million goal for new equipment this year.
Much of the money will go toward the purchase of a new x-ray machine as the one now in use is nearing
the end of its useful life.
Last year over 20,000 x-rays were performed in Bancroft.
STAFFING
Ongoing recruitment of medical staff is paying dividends in Quinte Health’s hospitals.
On Tuesday, the board of directors heard that the permanent staff vacancy rate was down by almost
five per cent, a better situation than even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
And since January of last year, 29 new physicians have been recruited benefitting psychiatry,
anesthesiology, hospitalist and emergency coverage.
However, recruitment efforts continue for many specialists and emergency room physicians will
remain a focus as patient volumes in the region remain higher, seven per cent up from this time last year.
