Hamilton’s health partners are asking for the community’s help in preventing the spread of respiratory illness this fall and winter season and ensuring those who need it most maintain access to the city’s emergency medical care and resources.
As part of this effort, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is sharing regular updates on hospital capacity and links to stories and health tips to support our community this fall and winter season.
We appreciate your patience as our staff and physicians work hard to treat all patients. All HHS facilities, including adult and pediatric emergency departments (EDs), are under significant pressure.
New this week:
- Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), like many other hospitals in Ontario, is seeing an increase in the number of patients admitted for treatment.
- In some wards, the number of patients requiring care exceeds the number of beds available. This means some patients may receive care in non-traditional locations, such as hallways.
- Patients may also be transferred to another HHS location or another hospital.
- Last week’s average was 60 The number of patients waiting for inpatient beds in the adult emergency room reached 77 patients per day, at one point reaching a daily high. In November, he was experiencing an average of 50 cases per day. Therefore, the number of patients per day has increased by 20%.
- The number of patients visiting maternal and child health centers is increasing, with more children and young people presenting with symptoms of the viral disease.
- Emergency department visits have increased 31 percent since September (from an average of 125 per day in September to an average of 164 per day in December). The highest number of visits so far this month is 189 visits/day.
- As of December 11, there are 33 pediatric patients hospitalized with influenza/RSV/COVID-19. This is an increase from 27 patients on November 20th. Of the 33 patients, 18 were infected with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
reminder:
- Not all children with respiratory illnesses need to go to the emergency room. Unless your child has serious symptoms, contact your doctor or visit an emergency center. Check out the HHS Health Tips article.
- Now is a good time to get vaccinated against the coronavirus and influenza.
- Masking is strongly recommended for all visitors to all HHS buildings. Patients should not visit if they are sick or have symptoms such as cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, or new rash.
Hospital Activities – December 14th
| Utilization rate with funds: | |
| hamilton general hospital | 105% |
| Juravinsky Hospital and Cancer Center | 110% |
| McMaster Children’s Hospital | 97% |
| West Lincoln Memorial Hospital | 126% |
| ALC patient occupancy rate | 246 |
| New coronavirus infection positive patients | 100 |
| New coronavirus infection positive patient in ICU | 7 |
| Active outbreak of new coronavirus infection | 1 |
Resources for community members
