Subscribe
Back to Search
Contact(s)
Packet and Times
While Ontario hospitals have reduced the time spent in emergency rooms (ER), wait times at Orillia’s hospital are even shorter than the provincial average.
According to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, time spent in the province’s ERs has decreased by 1.2 hours over the past four years.
As of September, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital’s (OSMH) average wait times are 4.6 hours for complex conditions and 1.8 hours for uncomplicated conditions compared to the provincial average of 5.7 and 2.2, respectively.
Patients entering the OSMH emergency room with complex conditions are there for 8.2 hours from arrival to the time they are either discharged or admitted to the hospital. That is compared to the provincial average of 10.9 hours and is close to the target of eight hours.
Terry Dyni, director of community relations at OSMH, said that average is about two-and-a-half hours faster than the provincial average in the month of September.
Those with uncomplicated conditions are at the Orillia ER for an average of 3.1 hours, while the provincial average is 4.1 hours.
OSMH is considered “high-volume community ER,” said Tim Tigchelaar, ER chief.
The hospital sees more than 54,000 ER visits each year, said Tigchelaar, and those numbers are increasing.
“(The ER statistics) suggest that we not only see patients faster than the provincial average; we’re a top performer in that regard. We also make the decision on their disposition faster than the provincial average,” said Tigchelaar.
Dyni said it indicates the hospital is doing a good job. He said the hospital has made a concerted effort to keep its wait times down.
He pointed out the hospital was ranked fifth in the province in 2011-12 for a physician initial assessment of two hours.
He added OSMH was also ranked third for treatment to patients who require immediate attention, but don’t need to be admitted.
“Statistics like that really reflect well upon the hospital and specifically upon the emergency department,” said Dyni. “It tells us that our emergency department is running very well, very efficiently and the people who are coming there are getting excellent care.”
Tigchelaar said the statistics don’t reflect well upon the emergency department only.
“When (emergency) performs well, it is also because of the hard work of the people behind the scenes,” Tigchelaar said, noting the lab staff and those who work in diagnostic imaging deserve kudos.
The province announced it was funding 74 ERs with up to $93.6 million this year, but Dyni said he didn’t know whether OSMH would be included.
