Watch above: Less than a month-and-a-half into the declared flu season, patients are showing up in droves at Saskatoon medical clinics. As Meaghan Craig reports, people are also flocking to pharmacies asking for advice and medication to try to avoid wait times.
SASKATOON – Patients will have their “patience” put to the test as the flu season continues. Wait times have not declined at emergency rooms, with some patients waiting up to 48 hours to be moved up to a unit.
Officials at St. Paul’s expects patients will be cared for in the hospital’s hallways heading into the weekend as that site continues to run at over-capacity and has since mid-December. Now clinics and pharmacies are seeing an influx of those with influenza-like symptoms less than a month-and-a-half into the provincially declared flu season.
“Patients describe it as being hit by a truck.”
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According to Sabrina Pidperyhora, a pharmacist at London Drugs, other symptoms include a high fever, body aches and at times a cough.
“A cold does have a cough associated with it but you generally get a lot of nasal congestion, sneezing, those types of symptoms. It doesn’t usually have a high fever associated with it, it comes on more gradually.”
Pidperyhora explained a pharmacist can help you decipher the two and what steps to take to help you get back on the mend.
“The best thing is to get plenty of rest, if you do have a high fever taking some Tylenol for the fever can help, drinking lots of fluids if you can to keep hydrated and basically just taking it easy.”
Officials with the Saskatoon Health Region also recommend calling the provincial Healthline at 1-877-800-0002 if you have non-emergency, health-related questions or to visit your family physician or a walk-in clinic.
“An hour wait would mean probably eight patients,” said Daniel McNeil, the business manager for Kenderdine Medical Clinic.
The clinic sees up to 400 patients a day. with 300 of those booked appointments. The rest are walk-ins with close to half of those patients experiencing influenza-like symptoms.
“When the flu season starts, more people get sick and when more people get sick it just means wait times are going to be longer.”
Especially if it’s one of the doctors that falls ill with the rest having to pick up the slack.
“If you only have eight doctors as opposed to 12 seeing that same amount of patients, wait times are going to get longer and unfortunately it’s unavoidable.”
READ MORE: 5 ways to protect yourself from the flu
Prevention is the best solution although times are limited the flu vaccine is available until the end of march.
“Wash your hands is the biggest, the best simple thing you can do when it comes to trying to avoid getting any of those symptoms other than that when it comes to flu it’s not tough to get and when person gets it in your family or one person gets it in your school, your daycare or work it’s going to go around.”
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