Stories of Redeployment during COVID-19: Radiation Therapists Making a Difference

Abstract

Purpose: In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, long term care homes around the globe grappled with COVID-19’s most devastating effects. During this challenging time, many homes were operating with significantly fewer staff than usual and were in immediate need of resources to help care for patients and operate the facility safely. The hospital affiliated with our Cancer program was tasked with working with the long-term care and retirement homes in our Ontario Health Team region to support the staff and residents at identified homes. Wave 2 of the pandemic evolved quite rapidly with a significant uptick in COVID-19 patients being cared for within Ontario's hospital system. To increase capacity and provide care for these patients, "alternate models of care” were implemented for acute and critical care. This meant that members of teams from other areas of the hospital were required to work in areas that needed staff. In both scenarios, radiation therapists from our department were redeployed to roles outside of radiation therapy as either Alternate Care Providers (ACPs) or Safety Officers (SOs) in priority units. The aim is to share reflections and lessons learned from their experience of redeployment. Process: An SO is a non-clinical role that observes proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to keep staff safe in COVID units and an ACP is a clinical role that works collaboratively with nursing and interprofessional teams to ensure essential patient care needs are met. All redeployed staff completed tailored training to prepare them to work in these temporary roles in priority units. Results: The redeployment of staff facilitated a responsive staffing strategy to meet the demands of COVID on the healthcare system. Radiation therapists volunteered to move outside of their traditional roles to provide support in the most unfathomable and challenging situations. As the pandemic evolved, roles were adapted and changed from lessons learned in the first wave. A challenging aspect was that the radiation therapists had to learn how to use their skills as therapists to fully adapt to a new clinical setting, especially the transition to acute care from outpatient care. Outcomes: During these challenging times, those who were redeployed saw firsthand the devastating effects COVID 19 has had on individuals, families and caregivers. They were able to gain experiences, foster relationships and bring their knowledge gained to improve their own clinical practice and share with colleagues.