Hospital overcrowding quick fix 'a Band-Aid on a massive bleeding wound': N.L. paramedic head

A temporary measure to address overcrowding in the emergency department of the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's isn't enough, says the president of the Paramedic Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Rodney Gaudet says an expanded holding area to accommodate six patients waiting to be admitted to the emergency department is a poor solution for a long-standing problem.

"This is basically just another large Band-Aid that's been applied to the system to temporarily fix what is happening," Gaudet told CBC News in a recent interview. "If we put a Band-Aid on a massive bleeding wound it's not going to solve the issue. It's just a temporary fix."

Last summer, CBC News reported on patients waiting in ambulances and hallways at the Health Sciences Centre. That's stressful for patients and difficult for paramedics who can't respond to new calls until a patient they're with is admitted to hospital, said Gaudet.

"We are pre-hospital emergency care responders," he said. "So if we are not able to be out on the streets being able to help people because we are tied up with patients who are still on our stretchers, then that prevents us from doing our jobs. Emotionally and psychologically it takes a toll."

Overcrowding was a problem before the pandemic, and COVID-19 has heightened the need for solutions.

In July, an area at the hospital was set up to reduce offload delays, which regional health authority Eastern Health said could hold up to four patients in individual rooms. After a surge of Omicron variant cases that began late last year, the holding area was modified to accommodate up to six patients.

"Unfortunately some things in health care that are supposed to be temporary end up being more longer-term than they were initially intended," said Gaudet. "It is still not a great patient-care environment. Patients can hear other patients receiving care. So it doesn't fully protect patient privacy."

In early February, information released by the provincial government through an access-to-information request showed St. Clare's Mercy Hospital was on double over-capacity protocol for 50 days in 2021. On those days, there were no beds for patients to be admitted to in the emergency department.

In an email to CBC News late last week, Eastern Health said it's working on long-term solutions to address offload delays, including renovations to expand the hospital's emergency department.

Gaudet says that could take several years.

"It could get worse before it gets better," he said.

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