Surge in emergency patients leaves Georgian Bay General Hospital scrambling

A surge in patients needing emergency care in Midland has left the hospital scrambling to find beds.

Georgian Bay General Hospital said on Tuesday night the hospital admitted over 20 patients into the emergency department, which is about four times the usual amount, leaving the department at full capacity.

The hospital leaves admitted patients waiting in the emergency room for beds to open up, meaning emergency staff are caring for more patients as they also deal with new people coming into the department needing to be seen.

Matthew Lawson, GBGH interim president and CEO, said the growing number of patients has created additional concerns for staff morale.

"I think it's a consistent concern of burnout, and I think we owe a ton of gratitude to our front line staff and the work they put in," Lawson said.

It comes when health officials have confirmed the province is already in the seventh wave of the pandemic, with cases expected to continue to rise over the next couple of weeks.

"We are seeing patients come in with COVID, and we are seeing a spike in staff cases, so roughly five per cent of our workforce is off on covid isolation or have covid themselves, and that puts a further burden on our staffing and our ability to see patients faster," Lawson said.

GBGH is actively trying to recruit more staff. To reduce further pressure on its emergency department, it has partnered with Rocket Doctor, a virtual physician program, that allows patients to see a doctor via video within a day and is covered by OHIP.