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52 days of gridlock

THUNDER BAY -- The region’s hospital witnessed a 105 per cent jump in the number of gridlock days in 2013.
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FILE -- Patient alcoves are temporarily set up at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in this tbnewswatch.com file photograph. These alcoves led to a fire code violation and while they’re no longer used as a makeshift fix, gridlock continues to be an issue at the region's hospital. (tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- The region’s hospital witnessed a 105 per cent jump in the number of gridlock days in 2013. 

Last year there were 190 days when the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre had more patients waiting for admission than there were beds available. The trend has so far continued into 2014. 

From the end of December until mid-February, there were 52 consecutive days of gridlock at the hospital. That's the longest stretch to date. 

Vice-president of patient services Rhonda Crocker Ellacott said the frequency is directly related to the number of alternative level of care patients. 

She added that last week there were 80 people waiting to be moved to an ALC space in the city.

The Health Sciences Centre is now at 35 straight days of gridlock.

This news comes after last month’s announcement from Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews that a $14 million investment would go toward opening 53 new beds in facilities throughout the city. 

Hospital officials hope that will help the system function better overall.


(Thunder Bay Television)





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