Whitehorse hospital running at limited capacity, not linked to COVID-19

The Whitehorse General Hospital appears to be nearly at capacity,

The hospital inpatient bed availability tracker is in the "red zone" for both the general intake and the ICU, meaning the bed availability is extremely limited and in most areas, it's full.

The tracker was last updated on Monday.

James Low, a spokesperson for the Yukon Hospital Corporation, said the hospital's capacity is not linked to COVID-19 nor staff shortages.

"It's difficult to tell what's driving this. We are busy, there's no doubt about that," he said. "It could just be that it's the summer and there's more people in the territory."

Low says capacity fluctuates on a day-to-day basis, even hourly.

"When you're operating in an environment where beds are extremely tight all the time, that does put pressure on our team," said Low. "It's exhausting."

Last Friday, to expand capacity, two patients were transferred to the Watson Lake Community Hospital, almost five hours away from Whitehorse. But this was only a temporary solution.

"We utilize all the beds in the hospital system in the Yukon," said Low. "That just alleviates the bed pressures here."

The Whitehorse General Hospital has 58 beds, five of those are maternity beds, while its ICU departmetn has four beds. Watson Lake Community Hospital and Dawson City Community Hospital each have six beds.

Another strategy the hospital uses to alleviate capacity is working with partners such as long-term care homes to move patients and clients who no longer require hospital care to their homes or another facility.

So far, there's no plan to change the current strategies.

Low said the tracker is meant to communicate to the public the general level of businesses, and it should not deter anyone from going to the hospital if they need to. 

"We are here to provide care when it's needed most," he said. "If you need urgent care, don't delay and come to the hospital or dial 911."