Posted by Sudbury Northern Life 
On Feb. 19, Ontario became the first province to set clear targets for reducing the total Emergency Department Length of Stay (ED LOS) in hospitals.
In support of this initiative, the Ministry is now publicly posting hospital emergency department wait times online.
Dr. Chris Bourdon, medical director of the Emergency Department at Sudbury Regional Hospital, is the ED lead for the Northeast Local Health Integration Network (NELHIN).
The ED leads of all fourteen LHINs meet monthly to provide expert opinion to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MoHLTC) regarding effective means to reduce ED LOS.
"ED LOS is an access to care issue across the province. EDs are not set up to provide the same kind of care as inpatient units - each step in the system is designed to appropriately address the patients' needs depending on the phase of their illness. This initiative is about maintaining that flow and thereby improving care for patients in our hospitals," said Bourdon, in a release.. 
According to data collected for October, 90 per cent of patients in Ontario spent an average of 4.6 hours for minor conditions, and 13.5 hours for complex conditions.
Data for the HRSRH Emergency Department in October showed a wait time of 4.1 hours and 11.9 hours respectively.
"These numbers will change month to month as a result of fluctuations in capacity and acuity at any given time," explains David McNeil, Sudbury Regional Hospital vice-president of clinical programs and chief nursing officer.
"For example, we know our scores for February will be closer to the provincial average wait time."
ED LOS begins when a patient registers at the ED, and ends when the patient is discharged home or admitted to a hospital bed. The province has set a target of four hours for patients with minor or uncomplicated conditions requiring less time for diagnosis, treatment and observation, and eight hours for patients with complex conditions.
The hospital has continuously worked to improve the efficiency of its ED service, according to a hospital press release.
In November 2007, the hospital partnered with the MoHLTC as a pilot site in an initiative related to improving patient flow and access, which tracked various components of patient stay with a specific focus on the ED.
The hospital is also partnering in the Long-Term Care Nursing Outreach program in an attempt to avert ED admissions from nursing home and long-term-care facilities where nursing intervention on-site can be provided.
McNeil stresses that he understands the frustration of patients who must wait but adds that initiatives like ED LOS provide a broader context within which to view our health care system.
"We support initiatives like this because setting targets raises the level of accountability for both the government and hospitals. We also hope it raises public awareness for hospitals like ours where wait times are often caused by other factors such as the Alternate Level of Care (ALC) crisis facing our community at the moment," states McNeil.
To access hospital emergency wait times online, visit www.health.gov.on.ca .
