When we brainstormed after the first wave, we made an initial observation. All the hospitals in Quebec were taken by storm, and we had to offload the surgical activities and reassign the operating room staff to other departments in the hospital. As a result, we had to stop training nurses and all operating room staff. The training of an operating room nurse or respiratory therapist can take six to twelve months, in addition to the usual nursing or respiratory therapist course. Most of the time, these employees are ready after nine months of training.
If I wanted to increase the number of qualified operating room staff today, it would take me nine months at best. But if the third wave were to hit Quebec as hard as it hit Ontario, we would probably have to split hairs to determine which activities we keep and which ones we stop.
In the first wave, we decided to continue the training, but in the second wave, we had to stop because our teams were already being stretched too thin.
We must promote the beauty of this work, which is really difficult. You are right, Mr. Thériault. The [technical difficulties] pandemic because of the resources that were already stretched thin, that was difficult. The chronic underfunding of the health care system is such that conditions are not optimal. Right now, the situation is worse than it has ever been in the history of public medicine. [Technical difficulties], I am absolutely sure of that.