York Central Hospital achieves provincial wait time target

Average wait for patient with minor or uncomplicated conditions is four hours

Wednesday April 8, 2009 -- Jason Thompson

York Central Hospital has announced that despite the challenges associated with serving one of Canada’s fastest growing communities, its emergency room wait times for treating patients with minor or uncomplicated conditions is among the shortest in Ontario.

According to www.ontariowaittimes.com, the average wait time for patients with minor or uncomplicated conditions is already meeting the provincial target of four hours.

In a statement released Feb. 20, York Central Hospital credits its success to the hard work and commitment of staff members who provide expert and compassionate care in a timely and efficient manner.

“The hospital is especially proud of this accomplishment considering the extraordinary pressures its staff and physicians face on a daily basis due to the continued growth in southwest York Region.”

For patients with serious or complex conditions that require more diagnosis, treatment or admission to a hospital bed, the average wait at York Central Hospital is 15.3 hours. Although the provincial target for these patients is eight hours, only a handful of hospitals are currently able to provide care within that timeline. 

“The hospital has done a great job of caring for patients with more minor ailments and injuries, but continues to experience challenges with patients with more serious conditions who require further investigation and monitoring and often need to be admitted to hospital,” said chief of staff Dr. Larry Grossman, in a news release.

“Overcrowding in the ER due to a lack of inpatient beds leads to delays in both assessment and transfers out of the department.”

In spite of the challenges, York Central Hospital has introduced a number of initiatives designed to improve patient flow and cope with the pressures in the emergency room.

For instance, a former dialysis unit has been transformed into a temporary care unit for up to 15 patients coming from the emergency room who are waiting for a bed to become available before they can be transferred to an appropriate in-patient setting.

Other initiatives include:

• Colour-coded treatment zones to guide patients and their families to the appropriate areas of care
• An urgent treatment area for pediatric patients enabling children to be seen by pediatricians and specially trained pediatric nurses in a family friendly area separate from the adults in the emergency department. This helps reduce anxiety levels among both children and their parents and enables the hospital to provide more specialized care resulting in better outcomes
• A new ambulance off-load nurse role within the Emergency Department. Part of a provincial initiative, this position is new to the ER and adds additional staff over and above the regular staffing complement, enabling the nurse to devote their full attention to the care of patients brought in by ambulance

“Our goal is to provide our patients and community with some of the lowest wait times in the province for patients with minor conditions as well as those patients who have more complex conditions often requiring admission to hospital,” Grossman said.

“Until then, we will continue to advocate for the operating funding and expanded facilities that will enable us to reach that goal.”