RVH president cites many factors for long hospital wait times
The president and CEO of Simcoe Muskoka's largest hospital, Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), addressed a recent report revealing troubling wait times in its emergency department.
Janice Skot cited several factors, including patient transfers from smaller hospitals and infrastructure challenges, following the report by Ontario Quality Health that recorded average wait times in the Barrie hospital's ER at nearly two and a half hours in April.
The province-wide average was 1.9 hours before patients could see a doctor.
"Remember, it's multi-factorial," noted Skot. "We need to have enough beds, and therefore we need our ALC patients to safely be discharged, and then that frees up beds and allows our patients to move through the emergency department as opposed to waiting too long for an inpatient stay.
So our building needs to expand in the long-term. In the short-term, I want to assure the public we are doing everything possible in terms of recruitment and staffing."
Skot said the pandemic created staffing shortages that have improved in recent weeks.
The Barrie hospital plans to expand its cold and flu clinic on Sperling Drive, providing an alternative to the emergency room and helping to ease patient wait times.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer filled with relief and grief following acquittal in death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.