The number of surgical patients has decreased this summer at Eastern Maine Medical Center, and some nurses and other staff members have been sent home on a daily basis for lack of work.

The nurses’ union has filed a labor grievance with the hospital because of a disagreement over the method used in laying off or reassigning people to other jobs, confirmed Dennis King, vice president of Eastern Maine Healthcare.

He downplayed the seriousness of the situation, saying the decline in patients is slight and only temporary, and the number of staff affected is very small.

A labor representative for the Maine State Nursing Association, which represents EMMC nurses in labor issues, declined to discuss the situation in detail, noting only that it relates to the increase in outpatient surgery and the decline in the length of hospital stays that are affecting hospitals nationally.

“I’m not really prepared to discuss it (in the media,)” said Leslie Homsted of the nursing association.

King said the occupancy rate in three out of eight post-operative recuperation units dropped from roughly 90 to 85 percent over the past year. From 10 to 15 nurses and technicians a day are being sent home or notified to stay home because of the slowdown, he said. The number has increased gradually since June.

Workers are given the option of taking unpaid leave, vacation time or reassignment to another area of the hospital if there is an opening and they are qualified, he said.

The reasons for the downswing in surgical patients are twofold, he said. The length of stay at EMMC has declined by nearly half a day, and there’s been a decrease in the number of long-term patients staying more than 180 days from 13 to five for similar time periods this year and last, he said.

“It is not a situation where EMMC is any different than any other hospital. Summer tends to be slower and the length of stay is getting shorter across the state,” he said.

“We’re confident that (the labor issue) will be resolved soon,” he said.