Emergency Rooms and Urgent Care Centres
NHS Emergency Rooms (ER) and Urgent Care Centres (UCC) saw a seven percent overall increase in patient volumes yesterday as compared to the daily average in September; 547 patients yesterday compared to the September daily average of 512.
An additional 31 patients were seen in the Flu Assessment Centre, for a 13 percent overall increase of ER, Urgent Care and Flu Assessment Centre visits. Of the 578 patients seen in the ERs, UCCs and Flu Assessment Centre, 41 percent of patients, or 236 patients, presented with flu symptoms.
People should only go to the FAC if they have minor flu symptoms – fever, dry cough, sore throat, mild vomiting, diarrhea, headache, body/muscle aches. They should go to the ER or call 911 if their condition is more serious.
Inpatients and Intensive Care Units
Most of the patients with flu-like illness are not critically ill. In most cases, these patients are treated and discharged and have not required hospitalization. There are currently 45 inpatients with confirmed or suspected H1N1 flu.
Postponement of elective surgeries
Some elective inpatient surgeries were postponed today due to the number of patients requiring hospital treatment and the number of staff calling in sick. Endoscopy procedures and all day surgeries proceeded as scheduled.
The hospital continues to reassess daily the need to make changes in order to respond to the increase in demand for care due to the prevalence of flu symptoms and respiratory illness in our region.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Caroline Bourque Wiley
Consultant, Public Affairs
905-378-4647, ext. 43113
cwiley@niagarahealth.on.ca
