It's not Tim Hortons, but the lobby of Royal Columbian Hospital probably isn't where patients thought they were going when they came to the hospital by ambulance Tuesday night.
Facing overflow conditions in the emergency department, staff put up temporary privacy screens for incoming patients in the hospital's lobby.
"The area that we admit patients into through the emergency department and the overcapacity areas that we have adjacent to the emergency department were full," said Roy Thorpe-Dorward, Fraser Health Authority public affairs officer. "We had a very busy site yesterday and we opened up an area in the main lobby to accommodate five stretchers that were brought in by B.C. Ambulance."
Thorpe-Dorward said the overcapacity crowd was the result of a number of factors out of the hospital's control. The two months following Christmas are the busiest time of year for hospitals across the Fraser Health region, Thorpe-Dorward said, because of seasonal illnesses like flu, chronic conditions flaring up, people suffering falls or motor vehicle accidents due to the weather, on top of already growing demand in emergency departments.
"Yearly emergency department visits are up six per cent over last year and in-patient days of patients admitted to Fraser Health units are up four per cent. We have annual growth and increased demand combined with the seasonal winter surge," Thorpe-Dorward said.
As of Wednesday, Thorpe-Dowrard said the privacy screens remain up and are being used as needed.
"It does look at little bit better than yesterday but they're still keeping that area there in case they get more," he said.
Last March, the provinc and Fraser Health drew criticism when the hospital's Tim Hortons dining area was used for patient overflow.
New Westminster MLA Dawn Black said the situation RCH is "not surprising," as seniors in need of long-term care beds and support services at home come to the hospital when those options aren't available.
"It all jams up in the emergency ward because people come in that way and there's nowhere to move them," she said.
The overcrowding is renewing calls for the province to move on an expansion of Royal Columbian Hospital. Fraser Health has submitted concept designs and is awaiting approval from the province.
"They've been waiting a long time. There are concept plans for the expansion of the hospital. They submitted that plan close to a year ago and generally a concept plan is approved in a much shorter frame of time than that. It's worrisome that they haven't received approval from the government," Black said. "I've been pushing it in the legislature. I questioned the Minister of Health Mr. de Jong last year. He admitted that the process was taking longer but, of course, he starts to talk about other areas of need."
Black said the issue will be "at the top of her agenda" when the legislature reconvenes in February.
Thorpe-Dorward said Royal Columbian is Fraser Health's top expansion priority, but there has been no indication in the last year that the province is moving forward with it.
B.C. Health Minister Mike de Jong was not available for an interview, according to his staff, but his office did offer a statement.
"We know this situation is not ideal, but recognize that the hospital has a responsibility to accommodate patients needing care," the statement reads.
As for the expansion, de Jong's staff said Royal Columbian will be considered in the upcoming 2012 budget process.
"We have also identified Royal Columbian Hospital as one of our capital priorities for health, but we need to consider all of the capital priorities, not only in health care, but across government, and the reality of our fiscal situation before making any commitments," the statement adds.
The B.C. Nurses Union is also voicing criticism over the province and Fraser Health's handling of Royal Columbian and long-term care for seniors. Janice Buchanan, union vice-president, said the situation was unacceptable but stressed overcrowding at Royal Columbian is the norm.
"It's very, very disturbing and distressing to see this again. It wasn't that long ago that we had the fiasco with Tim Hortons," she said. "The overcapacity at Royal Columbian Hospital is every day. Every day, 24-7."
Buchanan said baseline staffing at RCH ought to be enough to handle flu season without putting patients into hallways and corridors. Beyond that, Buchanan said increasing funding for long-term care beds and homecare to keep people out of hospital would probably be cheaper than treating them in crowded ERs.
"It costs $1,000 a day to have a patient in an acute care hospital. There are other ways of delivering the care," she said.
New Westminster city councillor and former MLA Chuck Puchmayr said RCH's current problems can also be traced back to the closing of St. Mary's Hospital.
"We took immense capacity out of New West when we closed St. Mary's Hospital," he said. "It was an incredible safety valve during the periods when Royal Columbian would be bursting at the seams...We warned the provincial government at the time what the impact would be on delivery of health care in New Westminster. We've seen over and over again what happens, specifically at this time of year."
