Ambulance New Brunswick has confirmed details from a photo making the rounds on social media of eight ambulances waiting outside the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, as ERs struggle to keep up with the demand for services.
A spokesperson for Ambulance New Brunswick confirmed that on Tuesday, Aug. 24 at around 5:30 p.m., those eight ambulances were stationed outside the emergency room.
It said five were on offload delay and another had just arrived, while the remaining two were scheduled patient transfers.
The five that were offload delays — which means they were waiting for nurse supervision or a space in the emergency room — had extensive wait times:
- 12 hours 29 minutes
- 8 hours 45 minutes
- 8 hours 15 minutes
- 5 hours 11 minutes
- 2 hours 9 minutes
“In total that day, ambulances experienced over 61 (61.35) hours in offload delays at the Emergency Department of the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre,” the company said.
Ambulance New Brunswick said offload delays are an ongoing problem; they continue to be concerned about the overall impact.
“We know that our health-care partners are working to find solutions to this ongoing challenge,” the company said.
The Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre isn’t the only hospital that experienced offload delays.
Ambulance New Brunswick provided the offload delay hours for August. The Moncton Hospital has consistently double-digit offload hours, whereas the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital is consistently in the mid-teens to low single digits. The Saint John Regional Hospital has similar hours.
Horizon Health Network also issued several public service announcements this week advising the public. It said not to go to the emergency rooms in Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton, and Miramichi because they were “extremely” busy.
The Sackville Memorial Hospital emergency room was closed entirely over the weekend due to staffing shortages.
Global News has reached out to Vitalite Health Network, who is responsible for the Dumont, but it didn’t respond to our requests. Its website indicates it only responds to media requests Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
We have also reached out to the Department of Health and are awaiting comment.
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