THUNDER BAY — For the first time since its inception, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre declared an emergency situation based on an the anticipated arrival of a large number of patients in the Emergency Department.
A hospital executive says staff practise annually for such a scenario, and in this instance it was handled smoothly.
Code Orange is declared in the event of an external disaster that brings an influx of patients and puts pressure on hospital resources.
The declaration followed a collision Sunday afternoon between a passenger van and a pickup truck on Highway 11-17 at Pass Lake.
Based on information received, hospital officials prepared to receive about 12 injured patients.
It turned out that five people were transported to the hospital from the accident scene for treatment. Four other individuals involved in the collision escaped injury.
Dr. Peter Voros, executive vice-president of in-patient services, said Tuesday that the protocol for Code Orange (level 1) assumed the hospital could handle a dozen new patients by relocating existing patients to other areas.
On Sunday, he said, the Health Sciences Centre had 110 people in the Emergency Department, with 32 admitted, "which is a very busy day."
He said staff were still able to move 12 patients to wards and six others back to the waiting room, "who could safely wait" there.
That freed up 18 spots, which officials felt provided a cushion for accommodating the casualties from the collision.
Voros said he was pleased with how the situation was handled, especially since staff had never had to deal with a real Code Orange before.
"What it showed us is that we were prepared...Staff were coming down from departments to help. Physicians from elsewhere in the building came down to the Emergency Department. Everyone stayed calm and managed the situation."
A Code Orange (level 2) would be declared in a more serious situation in which the hospital was unable to manage an emergency internally, and required more resources such as beds, space, staff or physicians.
