Staff shortages leading to heart surgery delays and deaths, say Quebec cardiologists, surgeons

Cardiologists and heart surgeons in Quebec are warning about a shortage of staff, particularly perfusionists, saying the lack of workers who help keep patients alive during heart surgeries is contributing to delays and even deaths.

“Eighty people have died in the last year, year and a half, waiting for their surgery,” said Dr. Bernard Cantin, president of the Quebec Association of Cardiologists.

“That is awful,” he said. “It's unbelievable.”

The job is not well-known, but perfusionists play a crucial role in the operating room during cardiac surgeries across Canada. They run the cardiopulmonary bypass, or heart-lung machine, which does the work of the heart and lungs during hours-long procedures. The machine diverts the patient’s blood supply from the heart, oxygenates it, then returns