Sarah Mills: The magic of the May Long Weekend
Sarah Mills is looking forward to the May Long Weekend, and says the holiday holds the promise of the summer ahead, even...
Both the Regina Pasqua and General Hospital are over-capacity which is leading to longer wait times in the emergency room.
The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) announced Tuesday the Pasqua Hospital was at 118 per cent capacity and the General was at 100 per cent capacity.
The RQHR said it’s not due to any sort of illness but because of an annual patient surge that occurs between January and March.
Glen Perchie, executive director of emergency and EMS, said people can go to community clinics to help lighten the patient load but “if you’re afraid that something, you think you’re having a heart attack, a stroke or something serious, then our advice is to call 911 or come right in.”
The current surge began around Feb. 9 and peaked on Monday.
Perchie said since January 27 additional beds have been opened at both hospitals. He added due to the extra beds, some patients are in the hallways.
Hospital staff have also had to respond to the influx of patients.
“We have staff working overtime, they’re missing breaks, they’re stepping up for our patients.”
However, Perchie mentioned staff are often sick this time of year which leads to extra pressure on the rest who are not.
