WATCH: The province’s busiest emergency room is dealing with unprecedented patient back ups. Jordan Armstrong reports.
Fraser Health Authority is telling staff at Surrey Memorial Hospital that they’re “experiencing unprecedented site congestion.”
In an alert posted in the “staff only” areas of the hospital, they say the Surrey Memorial has the “highest volumes ever of patients in Emergency needing admission without assigned beds.” They also say there are multiple outbreaks at the hospital – including C. difficile and influenza – and that “every patient on every unit is being reviewed daily for potential discharge.”
They’re asking staff to support strategies being implemented, and to share their own ideas with managers. They also say a command centre has been set up to combat the problem.
A Fraser Health Authority spokesman said the emergency room is seeing up to 500 people per day — a significant spike that he attributed to a high number of flu cases in the community.
“It’s an extremely busy time,” said Ken Donohue. “We obviously appreciate the patience that the public has and our staff work hard to see patients as soon as they can.”
He said the hospital has also declared a C. difficile outbreak, meaning there are three or more cases and staff are taking extra steps to stop the infection from spreading.
Surrey Memorial underwent a $500 million upgrade in 2013 and 2014, which included a new eight-story critical care tower and a 57,000-square-foot emergency room.
Gayle Duteil, president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union, said her members are calling the “chaotic” conditions inside the hospital the worst they’ve ever seen.
“While Fraser Health is describing it as unprecedented, it’s certainly not unanticipated,” she said.
She said patients are waiting up to 45 minutes to be looked at. The hospital has re-opened its old emergency department and that emergency room patients are lining the halls, she said.
There are multiple admitted patients who require hospital care who are sitting in chairs waiting for beds, she added.
“Nurses are professionals and they’ll continue to care for any number of patients that come through the door. But it is a very difficult time,” she said.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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