Queensway-Carleton Hospital sees busiest day in 47-year history

The main entrance of Ottawa's Queensway Carleton Hospital in seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Ottawa)

The Queensway-Carleton Hospital saw its busiest day in its 47-year history this week, as it deals with higher patient volumes and much sicker patients.

The hospital in Ottawa's west end says it has a "multi-level surge escalation plan" to ensure it provides the care patients need, "when they need it", as it deals with a surge in patients and longer wait times in the emergency department.

On Thursday, the Queensway Carleton Hospital issued a statement to outline the current situation inside the hospital, and alternate care options for non-urgent respiratory cases.

"It’s been quite busy at QCH, with higher patient volumes and much sicker patients, resulting in longer wait times in our Emergency Department," QCH said.

"Tuesday, January 10 was the busiest day in QCH’s 47-year history. We had 361 admitted patients, 32 waiting to be admitted in the ED, and were at 113 per cent occupancy."

The Queensway Carleton Hospital is funded for 275 beds, but has 361 admitted patients. The hospital says it is currently running an additional 56 beds in a renovated retirement home, 15 beds in a renovated waiting room at the hospital, and has set up the "equivalent of an entire inpatient unit" in the emergency department.

"We’re doing everything we can to ensure you get the care you need, when you need it. On a daily basis we monitor a dashboard that looks at the number of patients, ICU capacity, isolation requirements, staffing capacity and logistics," QCH said.

"Multiple times per day we meet to evaluate where each patient can best be cared for given their clinical needs and our current staffing. We regularly meet and coordinate with other hospitals and partners in the community. We have a multi-level surge escalation plan."

The hospital says if you are experiencing respiratory symptoms that don't require urgent care, you can book an appointment at the West Ottawa Clinical Assessment Centre on Draper Avenue. The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday.

On Tuesday, the Ottawa Hospital said it was experiencing higher than usual patient volumes, and was adapting operations to provide care.

"The combination of respiratory illness season, including the flu and COVID, and higher trauma volumes often means that winter is a busy time at hospitals," TOH said on Twitter.

"In order to manage these increased volumes, TOH has prepared several temporary unconventional spaces for patients. These spaces have been adjusted to maintain patient safety, comfort and experience."