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COVID-19 is still packing a punch and visits to emergency departments are taking longer than usual, warn Ottawa hospitals.
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In a statement released Wednesday, The Ottawa Hospital said it is experiencing “increased pressures” on its emergency departments and ambulance offload processes. COVID outbreaks and staffing shortages due to COVID or exposure to the virus were among the reasons.
The shortage of nurses was already a crisis situation and this is exacerbating the issue, said Rachel Muir, president of the Ontario Nurses Association bargaining unit at The Ottawa Hospital.
“It’s worse than they make it sound. I’m glad they’re making these statements because wait times have been long for a long time. We’re seeing a lot of frustration from patients and their family members,” said Muir.
“Is it getting better? Not at this point. Is it getting worse? Hard to tell. But it is absolutely not getting better. Front-line workers are seeing patients as quickly as they possibly can. But there are only so many of them.”
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The Queensway Carleton Hospital and the Montfort Hospital have also reported higher than usual wait times.
“The total number of patients coming in today, for example, was as high or higher than before the pandemic,” said Ann Fuller, a spokesperson for Queensway Carleton on Wednesday.
The “acuity” levels — the complexity and severity of cases — are also quite high, she said. Higher acuity cases tend to require staying in the emergency department for longer, and more medical attention, or being admitted to hospital.
At the same time, like many hospitals in Ontario, the Queensway Carleton is challenged by staff shortages, said Fuller. That problem has been compounded by staff who have to take time off work because of COVID-19 isolation.
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Patients will be seen according to the severity of their illness or injury, say the hospitals.
“If you need emergency care, you should continue to come to the emergency department,” said The Ottawa Hospital in a statement. “Patients will be triaged based on the severity of illness or injury and some patients may have to wait longer.”
Geneviève Picard, a spokesperson for the Montfort Hospital, said the Montfort’s emergency department is experiencing pressure and is urging members of the public to consider other options if their condition is not severe, such as a family doctor, a walk-in clinic, a pharmacist or Health Care Connect Ontario.
Meanwhile, ambulance offload delays at hospitals, high call volumes and staffing levels are affecting paramedic service levels, said Pierre Poirier, chief of the Ottawa Paramedic Service.
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Offload delays affect service because paramedics must remain in emergency departments for longer. The paramedic service is working with hospitals to improve offload delays and implement contingency plans to meet the demand for service, said Poirier.
While new daily cases of COVID-19 reported by Ottawa Public Health are likely an underestimation of the actual presence of the virus due to limitations on testing, other figures offer a picture of COVID-19’s continuing presence in the city.
Ottawa Public Health reported four new deaths and four people in ICU with active COVID-19 infections on Wednesday.
There were 58 open outbreaks in health-care institutions, including eight in hospitals, 14 in long-term care homes, 27 in retirement homes and nine in other institutions, such as group homes. There were also 99 confirmed COVID patients in Ottawa hospitals. Of these, 42 were in hospital because of a COVID infection and 57 were in hospital for other reasons, but still testing positive.
Fuller praised hospital staff for continuing to persevere and taking on extra shifts and work assignments.
“While COVID may be under control, health care is still in need of healing — both the system itself and the people that power it,” she said.
COVID-19: Ottawa Hospital sees longer emergency, ambulance wait times - Ottawa Citizen
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