Continued 'critical staffing shortages and high patient volumes' impact Durham Region emergency departments

Lakeridge Health Bowmanville, in Bowmanville, Ont., is shown on Saturday, July 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Joe O'Connal

Durham Region emergency departments “continue to experience critical staffing shortages and high patient volumes”, according to a joint statement issued Saturday by Lakeridge Health and the Region of Durham Paramedic Services (RDPS).

“This is impacting overall wait times for less acute patients and increasing the time that RDPS is able to offload ambulances at Lakeridge Health hospitals,” it reads.

All residents who need non-urgent medical attention are being asked to consider other options for care like walk-in clinics, primary care, urgent care, and/or virtual care options nearby.

Lakeridge Health has a website detailing all the urgent care options available that residents can refer to, which also includes an estimated wait time tracker at their four emergency departments.

Wait times are refreshed every half-hour, and reflect roughly how long it could take patients to be triaged, registered, and see a health practitioner. Lakeridge Health says it does not predict “the entire length of stay, as that depends on the care required and tests a patient may need.”

At the time of this article’s publication, the average wait time In Oshawa was two hours and 42 minutes, while those in Ajax-Pickering could expect to wait an average of five or more hours.

Anyone who needs immediate medical attention should call 911 or visit the closest emergency department

“All people who arrive at a Lakeridge Health Emergency Department who are experiencing life-threatening conditions and/or are in a situation that poses a sudden threat to life are cared for immediately,” the joint statement reads.

Life-threatening conditions can include chest pain or discomfort, lack of pulse, unconsciousness, trouble breathing, severe bleeding, shortness of breath, dizziness, and other serious trauma.