Peterborough hospital says rising flu, COVID-19 cases puts pressure on staffing

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre says it is already feeling the strain as respiratory illness cases begin to climb this fall.

On Wednesday, Dr. Lynn Mikula, the hospital’s president and CEO, reported that as of Tuesday, the hospital’s inpatient beds were at 105 per cent occupancy — mainly due to seasonal flu and COVID-19 cases.

Peterborough Public Health has kept its community risk index for COVID-19 at the high level this month.

“In the first week of November, our emergency department visits for respiratory visits are more than 40 per cent higher than they were in the first week of October,” Mikula told reporters.

And it’s not just adult cases: emergency room visits for pediatric respiratory illness are 26 per cent higher for the first week of November compared with October, she said.

Visits to the pediatric outpatient, or POP, clinic have increased by nearly 70 per cent.

“With 127 visits in first week of October and up to 215 in first week of November,” Mikula said.

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She says the increase in patients, coupled with more serious or complex illnesses, requires a higher level of care. The result has been an ongoing staffing shortage.

“This is similar to what’s being seen across the province,” she said. “And although we’ve made substantial progress due to recruitment efforts, we continue to feel the pressure from these shortages.”

In August, Statistics Canada reported that 95,800 health-care jobs were vacant in the fourth quarter of 2022 across Canada — more than double the 2019 fourth-quarter figure of 40,100. Two-thirds of the vacancies were nurses and support workers.

Also in August, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions released a report calling on PRHC to add 107 more beds and 493 additional staff members over the next four years to meet demand of a growing and older population in the region.

Along with getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu, Mikula is advising residents to consider alternative options for care instead of using the emergency department — depending on what their condition is and what level of care is needed.

Visit PRHC.on.ca for a list of available options.

— with files from Mark Giunta

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