Facing 'capacity challenges,' LHSC looks to transfer regional patients back

With the Omicron-fuelled wave of COVID-19 putting a strain on staff and bed space, London's largest hospital operator is starting to transfer some regional patients back to their home hospitals. 

Dr. Adam Dukelow, the head of emergency medicine at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) told CBC radio's Afternoon Drive show on Thursday the moves are necessary to free up much-needed hospital beds. 

"We continue to have capacity challenges," said Dukelow in an interview with host Chris dela Torre. "The number of beds that we have that are staffed are too few to look after the number of patients that we need to look after."

LHSC is currently caring for 166 patients with COVID-19, with 23 in critical or intensive care. 

Dukelow said he's working with regional hospitals to "repatriate" patients closer to home. He said some London patients may also be transferred to hospitals outside the city, including Stratford, Woodstock, Strathroy, Tillsonburg and Hanover. He said St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital has almost no capacity to take new patients. 

Dukelow said the space crunch is similar to what happened during the third wave of COVID-19 infections. 

"Everybody is stretched right now," he said. 

Dukelow said the need to transfer patients brings on some difficult conversations with families but said most understand this is a unique and difficult situation. 

"We talk about it being a provincial health-care system and we need to ensure that the patient loads are levelled to be able to access the specialized care that's only offered in London," he said. "Most families are quite understanding and want to work with the system." 

Dukelow said it appears that London has now passed the peak of this current COVID-19 wave, however he also said it's typical that hospital numbers won't reflect that decline right away. 

"We're not rising in hospitalizations right now and I hope that will continue and we'll start to see a fall," he said. "Hopefully once we hit the peak, we'll fall as quickly as we went up." 

Dukelow said the province's move to loosen restrictions on gatherings later this month and this week's return to in-person learning in schools could add to the current number of cases. 

He said hospital staff have faced multiple pressures with this current wave of new infections. In addition to crowded ERs and ICUs, more than 500 LHSC staff contracted COVID-19 and many more have had to stay home after reporting a close contact with an infected person.  

"Stress levels are high but the team comes together and they do what's needed for the community," said Dukelow.