If you plan on partying this Labour Day weekend, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) wants you to do so responsibly.
The London, Ont., hospital network is spreading the safety message in hopes of reducing preventable trips to its emergency rooms, which continue to experience higher-than-normal wait times.
Last weekend, the average wait time in LHSC ERs exceeded 10 hours, for those with less urgent or less emergent concerns.
Many other ERs across the province have repeatedly dealt with the same issue in recent months.
“If you are going out and drinking or choosing to use drugs, make sure you have a safe way to and from your destination, and go in with a couple options on how you’re going to get there,” said Jennifer Britton, an injury prevention specialist with LHSC.
Keeping in mind that thousands of students from Fanshawe College and Western University are set to arrive in town just before Labour Day, Britton also suggests setting up a safety plan before partying gets underway.
“The buddy system … so that’s having somebody you’re with all night that you’re checking in with and you’re making sure that person gets all way the home safe at the end of the night.”
Britton adds that summer is often recognized as trauma season in the region, with 320 incidents already brought to Victoria Hospital for adult and pediatric patients.
“Those are serious, life-threatening injuries,” Britton said.
“We’re trying to do anything we can to prevent those injuries from happening and it’s usually the case of (making) one different decision — not getting behind the wheel after you’ve had some drinks, keeping that phone down, using appropriate measures when you’re at the beach.”
As for LHSC’s emergency rooms, chief of emergency medicine Dr. Christie MacDonald says they’re seeing an increase in the volumes and complexities of patients.
“We’re trying to creatively flow patients throughout our own four walls in the emergency department. You may be pulled in for assessment and then put back out to the wait room, you may have expedited X-rays before you’re seen by a physician,” MacDonald said.
“What patients may not appreciate is the ambulance volumes that are coming in through the back door, so I think for patients, be prepared for a wait, be kind. We are working, we are trying to see our patients and be respectful.”
MacDonald also wants patients to know that not everything requires a trip to the ER. This may include cuts, scrapes, fevers, colds and simple fractures.
“There are certain caveats, if you have chest pain or stroke-like symptoms, certainly call 911 and get to your nearest emergency department, but for things that may have been going on, knee pain for three or four weeks, or something similar, there are other areas that you can seek care,” MacDonald added.
LHSC also provides a list of non-emergency medical assistance options on its website.
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