More patients leaving HSC ER without seeing doctor: Shared Health
Hundreds of patients are walking out of the Health Sciences Centre (HSC)'s emergency room every month without seeing a doctor, according to new statistics.
Shared Health says more than 30 per cent of patients who visited the ER in July left before receiving treatment. Statistics show those numbers have been going up every month since spring.
A total of 1,302 patients left in May. In June that number went up to 1,305, and the increase continued into July with 1,395 patients leaving the ER without receiving treatment.
Darlene Jackson with the Manitoba Nurse's Union says wait times are driving patients away as the system deals with staff shortages and backlogs. "We're seeing wait times that are skyrocketing," said Jackson. "There just aren't enough bodies in health care to manage all of our patients."
HSC chief operating officer Dr. Shawn Young says the number of people leaving without being seen by a doctor is concerning. "The staffing shortages alone have been a big driver of why we can't move patients through the system very effectively," he said.
Young adds that beds are filling up with admitted patients in the ER, causing a backlog. As well, the system as a whole lost staff during the pandemic.
Young says patients with non-emergency cases are still ending in up emergency rooms or urgent care hospitals, when they should be going to access centres, walk-in clinics or their own doctor instead.
"We need to actually re-create or revisit what we're doing with our care pathways," said Young. "We can't keep sending people to emergency departments for care, we have to be much more strategic."
Shared Health says nurse recruitment and retention efforts are ongoing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Ex-SNC executive sentenced to prison term in bridge bribery case
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.