Ottawa hospitals are grappling with a significant surge in respiratory illnesses, leading to unprecedented levels of patient admissions and extended wait times. Between January 6 and January 12, hospitals admitted 23 new patients due to influenza, 56 with COVID-19, and 22 with RSV. The emergency departments have reported a marked increase in respiratory cases, with more patients than usual requiring hospitalization.
As of November, the average emergency wait times at CHEO, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, were the longest in the province. Patients typically waited 4.6 hours—more than double the provincial average of 2.1 hours. Consequently, CHEO has had to open temporary surge beds to alleviate the pressure on its emergency department as it continues to operate at 130 percent capacity.
Queensway Carleton Hospital, another major hospital in the region, has been operating between 102 percent and 103 percent occupancy since the beginning of January. This has resulted in extreme wait times for patients waiting to be admitted, with some having to wait up to 40 hours for a bed. Even then, 12 patients remained in the emergency department due to a lack of available beds.
In response to these challenges, Ottawa Public Health has reported that influenza levels are very high and increasing, while COVID-19 and RSV infections are also on the rise according to wastewater surveillance data.
“We are now at the stage where we are putting patients sometimes in unconventional spaces,” said Roth.
The strain on resources is evident throughout the city. Since the start of the respiratory season at the end of August, hospitals have admitted 83 people with flu, 656 with COVID-19, and 195 with RSV. The hospital staff is facing increased pressure as about half of the patients coming through the emergency department require hospital admission.
In December alone, around 80 patients were treated in emergency departments for viral illnesses. These numbers reflect a healthcare system already burdened with COVID-19 and other viral illnesses when influenza cases began spiking in early January.
“But it is important to understand you might not get a typical room,” Roth added, highlighting the unconventional measures being taken to accommodate patients.
The situation is exacerbated by eight new influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities, retirement homes, and hospitals. Additionally, there have been seven new COVID-19 outbreaks and six other respiratory outbreaks reported recently.
“When we back up, we just have nowhere to see patients and that impacts everything in terms of our wait times,” explained DeGiovanni.
The healthcare workers are tirelessly striving to manage the influx despite these constraints. The hospitals’ efforts to address this crisis include deploying temporary surge beds and finding alternative spaces for patient care. However, these measures are only a stopgap as they continue to navigate through this challenging period.
