September 28, 2010

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is once again in “Gridlock”. The Emergency Department is overwhelmed with “in-patients” waiting for care in another part of the Health Sciences Centre. These patients are not able to move along because the rest of TBRHSC does not have the capacity to move them to their appropriate place of care. There are a number of reasons for this.

Our current summary is:

1. ALC patient pressures continue to rise. We have reached a peak of 77 patients waiting for other levels of care in acute care. This represents 30% of our medical/surgical bed capacity.

 
2. We currently have over 30 in-patients waiting in our Emergency Department.

 
3. This has created increased wait times in the Emergency Department, Ambulance Off-Load Delays and overcrowding in the ED, as well as cancellations of surgery.

 
4. Our staff, physicians and volunteers have been working exceptionally hard, giving their best efforts to respond to the needs of our patients.

 
5. The organization has opened an additional 23 beds in treatment rooms, alcoves and our recovery room to accommodate patient needs and avoid cancellation of surgery and further ED backlogs.

 
6. Other system pressures including outbreaks in Long-Term Care compromise our ability to return patients to their homes.

 
7. We are working together with our partners, CCAC, SJCG, LHIN, and others to identify opportunities to create capacity to better care for our patients. We are determining if additional bed capacity can be created on a temporary basis and trying to determine if any of our patients’ needs may be provided for with enhanced care at home.

 
8. We are seeking the best possible care for our patients. We apologize for any inconvenience and ask that you be patient with us as we work together to bring resolution to this matter.

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