Health district back in code purple

Just 13 days after it cancelled the last one, South West Health has called another code purple because of overcrowding within the district.

The health district called a code purple late Thursday afternoon because of overcrowding within the district. During a code purple it means that hospital beds on the nursing units are full, thus patients requiring a hospital bed are held in the emergency department. The hospital also then turns to television lounges and other areas to house patients.

The situation facing the district is this.

Five admitted patients have been moved out of the Yarmouth Regional Hospital ER and into the ambulatory care unit. Eight patients are under observation in the ER.

All inpatient beds in the Yarmouth Regional Hospital are full, all patient television lounges are full on the nursing floors and five admitted patients are being held in other areas: labour/delivery rooms, pediatric play room and rehabilitation room.

Two surgeries are planned for Friday and those patients will require a hospital bed after their surgery.

In a code purple, the regional emergency department remains open to people requiring services.

South West Health has been experiencing increased pressure over the past seven weeks, with more patients than hospital beds available. Part of this pressure stems from 56 people in hospital beds who are awaiting a bed in a nursing home. Recently South West Health received funding from the Department of Health to add five alternate level of care beds at Roseway Hospital for patients awaiting placement. These beds were immediately filled. Placing people appropriately in nursing homes has been a challenge since Villa St. Joseph du Lac has ceased accepting residents.

During the overcrowding situation nursing staff have been repeatedly called back to work to provide care to extra patients who are waiting for a hospital bed.