ER receives $1.8M to reduce wait times

Health Sciences North has received $1.8 million from the province to bolster initiatives which reduce wait times, increase access to care and improve the patient experience in the emergency room.

The funding is part of $93.6 million being provided to 74 emergency rooms across the province for that purpose.

Health Sciences North has put in place many initiatives to improve the situation in its emergency room, Sudbury MPP and Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci said, speaking at a Nov. 6 funding announcement.

These include dedicated emergency room nurses for frail seniors and those with mental health conditions, an ambulance offload nurse who cares for those arriving by ambulance, a see and treat area for those with minor conditions, a cardiac observation area and an outreach service for long-term care home residents.

“Those are just some of the strategies that this hospital has put in place to reduce wait times,” he said.

“I'm very, very proud of the strategies. But strategies need resources. I'm very, very proud that our government sees the benefit of this investment of $1.8 million.”

Bartolucci was quick to note the funding is new money.

“They're not rehashed dollars,” he said. “It's not part of a funding envelope from before.”

Although the hospital's emergency department is often criticized for its long wait times, the MPP praised those who work there.

He said his mother-in-law has been a patient in both Health Sciences North's emergency department and cardiac care unit, and received excellent care.

“Whenever you get down in the dumps about what isn't 100 per cent, think about the vast majority of people who ... truly are very thankful for you, your professionalism, the administration and the hospital as a whole.”

Dr. Rob Lepage, the emergency room's medical director, said the funding has already been spent on the various initiatives, which help his department “build upon the excellent care we provide.”

The see and treat clinic, especially, has stemmed the tide of patients who have felt the need to drive to Espanola or Sturgeon Falls to have relatively minor ailments dealt with, he said.

Health Sciences North's emergency room is one of the busiest in the province, treating more than 60,000 patients a year, he said.

Further complicating matters are the habitually high numbers of patients who remain in the department while queueing for an inpatient bed, which increases emergency room wait times.

These numbers have dropped slightly in recent weeks, however. As of Nov. 6, there were 13 patients in the emergency room waiting for an acute care bed. At times, those numbers have reached up into the high 20s.

“I'm a little bit at a loss to say exactly why,” Lepage said. “I wish we could take all the credit and say it's all the great work we've been doing. I hope that trend continues.”

North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) CEO Louise Paquette said in a press release that the organization continues to work with Health Sciences North to reduce emergency room wait times.

“This funding provides an additional boost to put programs in place that help to move people through the hospital quickly and safely,” she said.