Red Deer ER waits spike dramatically as doctors, nurses call for action

Frontline health care workers are renewing their pleas for help as emergency room wait times at the Red Deer Regional Hospital continue to balloon, hitting what doctors are calling "unprecedented" highs.

The posted wait time spiked over the weekend, topping out at nearly 18 hours during the early morning hours on Sunday.

"It was awful," said Dr. Timothy Gash, an ER physician who was working over the weekend.

He's never seen anything like it.

"Our system is struggling tremendously with emergency department overcrowding and access block for patients."

According to Gash, patients are very sick.

In addition, worsening staffing shortages are leading to ER bed closures and there are backlogs of admitted patients waiting, often for days, to be moved upstairs.

Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, the hospital's posted waits exceeded ten hours on four different occasions, according to the the Alberta Health Services' emergency department wait times website.

Gash is not aware of any patients who actually waited 18 hours over the weekend, but he said the facility is running at up to 120 per cent capacity and staff have a constant feeling of dread.

"The longer patients are kept in the waiting room and the longer emergency in patients are trapped in an emergency department, not getting into the hospital, they suffer worse outcomes," he said.

"We need immediate help."

The beleaguered Red Deer hospital — which has struggled with bed shortages for years --  is slated for a $1.8 billion expansion. But construction, which has yet to begin, is not expected to be complete until 2030-2031.

Sue Beatson, a registered nurse at the Red Deer hospital,  said her colleagues are so concerned about patient safety, they can sometimes be found crying in the break room.

"Nurses are having a hard time providing the care that Albertans need or require," said Beatson, president of the local chapter of the United Nurses of Alberta.