Long ER wait times, staffing challenges wreak havoc on small southwestern Ontario hospitals

Hospitals across Ontario are dealing with extremely long wait times in their emergency rooms (ER), citing factors including capacity challenges and staff shortages. ERs in smaller, rural hospitals in the province's southwest are no exception. 

Long delays were a problem even prior to COVID-19-related caseloads and backlogs, but physicians say the pandemic has worsened the conditions. 

Dr. Rod Lim, medical director and section chief at the London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) paediatric emergency department told CBC's The Current that the staffing situation at his hospital is very poor due to many people leaving the medical profession. 

"We're trying to plug every hole we can and we're often running short of nurses, and at night time we have staffing that is frankly unsafe at times. It's just not possible to function," he said. 

LHSC said high volumes in its ER are due to worsened illnesses as a result of  patients delaying care during the pandemic, more respiratory illnesses in addition to COVID, along with limiting surgical and ambulatory capacity during high-periods of hospitalization throughout the pandemic. 

The hospital put out a release offering tips to parents on how to keep their children out of the ERs over the summer. 

While Lim's is the largest hospital in London, hospitals in its surrounding areas say that the impact of long wait times is trickling down into their daily operations. 

Here's how they're grappling with this issue: 

In a news release, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH) informed residents of Elgin County of the pressures it's facing.

Heading into the summer after a very challenging two years has made it difficult to staff all programs and services, with a growing number of health care providers not willing to take on extra shifts to make the system function, the release said. 

"We, like most other hospitals, anticipate a very busy Emergency Department (ED) throughout the summer months and into the foreseeable future," said STEGH's president and CEO, Karen Davies.

"Staffing challenges, inpatient overcapacity and a very busy ED is resulting in higher than average wait times for patients visiting the ED. It poses challenges for those who require immediate, emergent care."

Davies says in March of this year, STEGH was seeing around 900 patients a week. They're now seeing over 1,200. 

Similar to LHSC, STEGH also has staff and physicians who have retired from the health care profession. The number of unfilled positions in the last year increased by 91 per cent, compared to 2020, they said.