Shortage of cardiology technologists in Manitoba puts patients at risk, warns health-care association

Some of the province’s emergency departments and care centres are lacking urgent cardiac testing due to a shortage of cardiology technologists, according to the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP).

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many issues within the health-care system, with staffing shortages being a major one. Now, a shortage of cardiology technologists in hospitals across the province shows how vulnerable the system can be.

“Training people isn’t the same as educating people. And knowing if your results are interpretable is an important thing,” said Colleen Bemister, a retired cardiology technologist.

“People are being brought in that are not qualified to do our jobs.”

Bemister, who worked in Winnipeg for 28 years, says understaffing is not a new issue. She notes the profession suffers from low enrolment rates.

“The cost is very prohibited,” added Bemister. “It’s very high cost for what they are paid for once they get out, so we haven’t had a raise in several years, like most health-care professionals.”

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Urgent EKGs are typically performed by technicians who have completed a 56-week diploma program, passed a national exam and are certified by the Canadian Society of Cardiology Technologists.

Bob Moroz, the president of the MAHCP, says with the lack of staffing, hospitals are pulling people from other areas – like X-ray – and are giving them minimal training to run these tests.

“There’s risk of an incorrect test, there’s increased risk for having to do the test over again, all of which adds time to the issue when time and minutes matter,” said Moroz.

An urgent EKG should be performed by a registered cardiology technician within 10 minutes of the patient walking into emergency, which is the global standard.

But Moroz says that standard is consistently not being met.

“We need to get this into the care teams’ hands as soon as possible, and we are not accomplishing that right now,” he said. “That is the most devastating thing you can encounter as a health professional, is not being able to fulfill what it is that we need to do.”

The MAHCP is calling on Shared Health to staff emergency departments appropriately so urgent EKGs can be performed.

A spokesperson from Shared Health tells CityNews all hospital staff who perform these are properly trained and have completed all their requirements to do so. They are currently working to address these staffing shortages.

But Bemister says the entire situation is concerning to say the least.

“Heart attacks don’t present a Monday-Friday, nine to five, they happen all the time, any time, so if they are staffing night shifts with people that are not qualified, it can be a safety risk,” said Bemister. “And this isn’t happening at all facilities, but it is happening at some facilities.”