Brockville General Hospital advises of high volumes

Brockville General Hospital (BGH) is advising of high volumes, especially in its Emergency Department and is asking residents to both exercise patience with its staff and also consider alternatives for their healthcare needs.

“We continue to experience high volumes in our Emergency Department. Our staff is working hard to provide the community with safe, quality healthcare,” BGH explained in a statement on Thursday, Jul. 11, 2024. “Please remember to show kindness when interacting with all hospital staff. They are doing the best they can in difficult, stressful circumstances to provide you the care you need. Also understand we care for those most critically ill first. Patients coming to the ED are seen based on the seriousness of their condition, not on the order of their arrival. Patients with non-life-threatening conditions will wait longer. Please be patient with our staff as they are doing their best to see patients as soon as possible.”

According to BGH, residents should consider alternatives to the Emergency Department in case of non-urgent issues, such as seeking assistance from your primary care provider, if available, or visiting a local pharmacy where a pharmacist can prescribe medications for common ailments. Residents should also consider using Health811, a free and confidential telephone service where residents can speak with a registered nurse day or night to obtain health advice, the hospital said. Other virtual options, like East Region Virtual Care Clinic or Tia Health: Canadian Online Doctor Appointments are also available.

For mental health and/ or addictions concerns, residents are asked to call the 24/7 Crisis line at 613-345-4600 or 1-866-281-2911. Adults aged 16 and over may also contact Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health., and for children or youth under the age of 16, residents should contact the Children’s Mental Health Services of Leeds Grenville.

The hospital said that it is also seeing high volumes in its inpatient units. “These are levels that are typically seen during the winter respiratory/flu seasons,” the hospital said, explaining that “we are also seeing an increase in COVID activity. This unseasonal surge is resulting in significant wait times.”

Additionally, the hospital said, “many of the patients our teams are caring for are acutely ill and require admission to hospital. At this time our Acute and Critical Care occupancy is at 135% capacity and as a result, many patients are waiting in our Emergency Department for an inpatient bed.”

And, strains on long-term care and home-care resources in the community have also led to delays in discharging of patients that need continued support in order to be discharged, the hospital said.

“Brockville General is committed to providing the best possible care to our patients ,” the hospital said, “and we appreciate the community’s understanding and cooperation during this challenging time.”