Red Deer hospital transferring new COVID-19 patients due to lack of capacity: AHS
Global News
COVID-19 patients who show up to the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and require "a higher level of care" are being sent to Edmonton and Calgary.
COVID-19 patients who show up to the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and require “a higher level of care” are being sent to Edmonton and Calgary as the hospital is “currently facing capacity issues,” according to Alberta Health Services.
In a statement to Global News, the health authority did not provide further details about how many patients have been diverted and how they are being transported.
Red Deer is located in AHS’ Central zone, a region whose health-care capacity is being stretched particularly thin.
READ MORE: Surge of COVID-19 cases spurs City of Red Deer to declare state of local emergency
“In the Central zone, we currently have 26 ICU beds, including 14 additional spaces,” Gregory Harris, a senior communications adviser with AHS, told Global News on Friday night.
“Central zone ICU is operating at more than 100 per cent of current capacity.”
Just last week, Premier Jason Kenney revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had stretched the province’s health-care capacity to such a degree, that the possibility of the system collapsing within days was a very real one.
READ MORE: Alberta adds COVID-19 measures, vaccine passport in effort to prevent health-care system’s collapse
