N.S. emergency department deaths hit six-year high, doctors point to ‘bed-blocking’

Emergency room doctors successful Atlantic Canada opportunity “bed-blocking” and patients presenting pinch precocious illness that wasn’t detected aliases cared for earlier are driving precocious numbers of deaths.

Nova Scotia’s wellness authority says emergency section deaths deed a six-year precocious successful 2023, pinch 666 deaths compared pinch 558 nan twelvemonth before.

Newfoundland and Labrador recorded a flimsy driblet successful emergency section deaths, from a five-year precocious of 326 successful 2022 to 297 successful 2023, but past year’s fig is still higher than nan years earlier and during nan tallness of nan COVID-19 pandemic.

Retired expert Robert Martel, who worked successful Nova Scotia ERs for decades, says galore beds successful emergency departments are blocked because they are occupied by patients who can’t get a spot successful semipermanent attraction aliases who request organization services.

He says patients are besides showing up astatine emergency rooms acold sicker than they should be, because they don’t person a regular expert who could person detected their unwellness earlier.

Dr. Stephen Major, president of nan Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, says location is ample grounds that patients person worse outcomes erstwhile they are kept successful an ER agelong aft they require emergency care.

Major is simply a family expert successful St. John’s who worked successful emergency rooms earlier taking a break past year, and he says nan conception of “bed-blocking” is besides forcing doctors to discuss care, which affects their affectional health.

“There were times wherever location were 30 admitted patients, and you mightiness person 3 to 5 beds that are free to effort to rhythm group through,” he said. “We’re seeing patients successful a chair, successful a corner, you’re putting patients wherever you tin spot them, because they request care.”

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Dr. Mike Howlett, president of nan Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and an subordinate professor astatine Dalhousie University, says wellness officials successful each provinces request to commencement semipermanent strategical readying to easiness nan unit connected emergency departments.

That planning, he said, must see doctors, heath-care workers, semipermanent attraction operators and others offering organization care, specified arsenic location supports.

“What we really request is simply a determination by governments to make it a privilege that these patients won’t enactment successful nan (emergency) section arsenic agelong arsenic they are because we cognize that it kills people,” Howlett said. “By not addressing it, governments and planners are systematically aiding and abetting a work level that virtually guarantees group will do worse.”

This study by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2024.