Work Continues to Increase Access and Reduce Wait Times in
Emergency Departments

Through an investment of $4.5 million the Provincial Government is moving forward with renovations to the emergency departments at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital and the Health Sciences Centre. These projects will help reduce wait times and increase access to vital services.

“Our government is committed to enhancing access to our health care system and as we continue to look for innovative ways to achieve that goal reducing wait times remains the key,” said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services. “We recognize that providing quality emergency services impacts the entire health care system. By making improvements to the emergency departments to improve the flow of patients at their first point of contact with a health care facility we are improving access to vital services for the patient.”

Work will begin next week to redevelop the emergency department at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital, which will result in enhanced patient flow through the department. The $4.1 million renovations, which are expected to take approximately 16 to 18 months to complete, will be conducted in three phases. Phase I consists of an expansion into the courtyard outside the emergency entrance off LeMarchant Road, while the second and third phases will improve both capacity and patient flow inside the existing emergency department. Phase II will focus on the waiting room, examination areas and security facilities and Phase III will address the registration and triage areas.

“We appreciate the support we receive from the Provincial Government to make the investments necessary to improve access to our programs and services,” said Vickie Kaminski, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Health. “By making physical improvements to our emergency room departments, we will be able to increase capacity and offer more timely access to emergency care for the benefit of our patients.”

Additionally, renovations will begin next month to the Health Sciences Centre emergency department. Through an investment of $400,000, renovations will include relocation and improvement of the fast track emergency room unit where less acutely-ill patients are assessed and treated. The renovations will locate the unit closer to the waiting room to improve patient flow. The new fast track space is anticipated to be completed by the end of September. This renovation was a recommendation of the patient flow study conducted by Eastern Health in 2009 to help identify areas of improvement in the hospital system. Currently 451 of the approximately 930 recommendations of the patient flow study, or 49 per cent, have been completed and activities to implement an additional 199 are currently underway.

“Improving overall access to our health care system is a priority for us, and enhancing the way emergency departments function for physicians, nurses and patients is key to that commitment,” said Minister Kennedy. “With the continuing rise of health care costs, our government is placing more emphasis on ensuring efficient and effective use of resources. We have engaged in several reviews and looked at best-practices in other jurisdictions as we continue to improve our own system.”

To further enhance the functioning of the emergency rooms throughout the province, the Provincial Government has engaged an external consulting group to assist in developing strategies to reduce emergency department wait times. X32 Healthcare of Virginia recently completed a two-day site visit of the adult emergency departments at the Health Sciences Centre and St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital. The analysis of this review is expected in the coming weeks.

Budget 2011 Standing Strong: For Prosperity. For Our Future. For Newfoundland and Labrador furthered the Provincial Government’s commitment to increasing access and reducing wait times with an investment of $1.8 million for the creation of a new Access and Clinical Efficiency Division within the Department of Health and Community Services to provide leadership on the issue of reducing wait times and improving efficiency for key health care services.

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2011 07 22                                                                               9:00 a.m.