HSN boosts bed capacity by at least 40, converting space at Daffodil Lodge

Health Sciences North (HSN) announced Monday it is creating "at least" 40 new hospital beds at the Daffodil Lodge Terrace that will be open in the New Year.

HSN said creating the new beds is the hospital's response to the chronic overcrowding made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and in anticipation of the flu season, which usually peaks in February, according to Health Canada.

“It’s important for us to continue to be proactive and create additional bed capacity to meet the needs of our surgical patients, increased demand during flu season and future COVID-19 hospitalizations,” said Dominic Giroux, President and CEO of HSN.

“Since August, we have already opened 29 additional beds at the Ramsey Lake Health Centre, including two 12-bed wards. According to Ontario Health, HSN has the highest occupancy percentage in the province, when compared against Ontario hospitals with more than 100 acute beds. This is further evidence that HSN was built too small.”

The hospital said in November it provided care for an average of 491 patients, peaking at 515 patients, in facilities designed for 441 beds. HSN said this number of admitted patients does not include the 60 patients receiving care from St. Joseph's Continuing Care Centre at the Clarion Hotel, which was set up back in April as part of the HSN pandemic surge plans.

The decision to create more beds was also done to help reduce the pressure for HSN's surgical wait list. The hospital has bumped the volume of surgeries to 110 per cent, said the HSN news release, to reduce the wait list.

That waiting list was at 3,700 before the pandemic as most non-urgent surgeries were suspended. The list rose to 4,200 in September and has since been reduced to 4,000 patients. 

“This is the time of year that we typically experience increased pressure for our limited beds,” said Lisa Smith, vice-president and chief nursing executive at HSN. 

“We are functioning at over-capacity on most units already and need to create capacity and flow out of our Emergency Department. Over the last three years, average monthly occupancy at HSN has increased by an additional 23 to 48 patients from November to February,” she added. 

The Daffodil Lodge Terrace opened in 1991 to provide accommodation for up to 70 cancer patients travelling for treatment from outside of Sudbury. In the last fiscal year, an average of eight residents stayed at the Lodge daily. 

HSN said at least two floors of the Daffodil Lodge will function as patient units until the summer of 2022, when 52 new beds will open at the site currently occupied by the Children’s Treatment Centre which is moving to the Southridge Mall. As required, HSN may increase the number of hospital beds at the Daffodil Lodge to 60 by using the fourth floor, said the HSN news release.