Supply and demand for cardiac nurses in Ontario: perceptions of CNOs.

This article presents the results of a nursing survey of cardiac care hospitals undertaken by a Cardiac Care Network of Ontario Consensus Panel on Cardiovascular Human Resources. The focus of the Panel was to identify areas of current or pending shortages in human resources and make recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care about human resource management in adult cardiac care in Ontario. The article presents the number and mix of full-time, part-time and casual nursing staff, the age distribution of RNs, and the number of vacant Registered Nurse (RN) positions for a sample of cardiac care hospitals in Ontario. Next a sample of Chief Nursing Officer opinions about factors contributing to current difficulties in recruiting RNs and the outlook for future shortages are presented. Implications for nurse managers are offered, including development of new recruitment and retention strategies, identification of further efficiencies in care provision, and a need for nurse manager involvement in debates about the future of how health care is provided in Canada.

Planning for cardiac surgical services: advice from an Ontario consensus panel. For the Consensus Panel on Cardiac Surgical Services in Ontario and the Steering Committee of the Cardiac Care Network of Ontario.

The Cardiac Care Network of Ontario (CCN) Consensus Panel on Cardiac Surgical Services drew on the literature and its own expertise to recommend guidelines for expanding services. This report, which is not an official position paper of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, presents these recommendations. Rates of surgery are linked to diagnostic capacity, requiring increases in interventional therapies to match increases in invasive diagnostic activity. For quality and efficiency, panel members recommend an annual minimum of 150 procedures per surgeon and 500 per centre; a centre should serve a minimum population of 500,000. Services should be as close to patients' homes as possible while maintaining recommended volumes. Expanding the CCN's cardiac surgery database to include other cardiac modalities will yield a more accurate assessment of waiting times. The panel recommends collaborative regional planning associations, mentorship arrangements between new and existing centres, prompt action on human resource shortages and exploration of alternative funding models.

Developing guidelines for allocating catheterization laboratory resources: lessons from an Ontario Consensus Panel. Consensus Panel on Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Services in Ontario and the Steering Committee of the Cardiac Care Network of Ontario.

In March 1997, the Ontario Ministry of Health asked the Cardiac Care Network of Ontario (CCN) to develop guidelines for allocating cardiac catheterization laboratory resources. A consensus panel of providers and planners used findings from the literature and expert opinion to recommend guidelines for the operation of cardiac catheterization laboratories and criteria to be considered when allocating additional cardiac catheterization laboratory resources. This article summarizes the consensus panel's major findings that may be of value to other jurisdictions, including need identification, clinical practice, system issues, location criteria and cost considerations. The article reflects the advice given to the Ontario Ministry of Health by the CCN and is not an official position paper of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.