New Comox Valley hospital over capacity 6 months in concerns union

The new North Island Hospital Comox Valley in Courtenay, B.C., opened to patients six months ago to relieve health-care pressures in the area, but employees are concerned it is already overcapacity and understaffed. 

The Hospital Employees' Union (HEU) says there are not enough rooms for all those who need them and that their members are overworked trying to deal with so many patients.

Jennifer Whiteside, HEU secretary-business manager and spokesperson, recently toured the hospital and found there were 178 patients admitted and only 129 funded beds.

"That results in a situation where patients are cared for in hallway beds or in rooms that were not designed to accommodate patients," Whiteside said. "There is a terrific pressure on the facilities at that hospital."

White said she's been told by employees that the hospital has been overcapacity since it opened in October 2017.  

"Just about everyday there is protocol put in place to adjust the way in which the hospital is working, because they are having to accommodate many more patients than they actually have funded beds for," she told Jason D'Souza, the host of CBC's All Points West.

No patients turned away

The Vancouver Island Health Authority said in a statement that the hospital has experienced high patient volumes due to a variety of factors including the impact of moving into a new facility.

"When surges in patient volumes occur, we never turn anyone away," the health authority said. "We adjust staffing levels to support patient volumes. Temporary overflow patient care areas are opened and all patients are cared for in appropriate spaces."

Whiteside said she plans to follow up with the health authority to find out how often overcapacity protocols are put in place.

"Of course, hospitals don't turn away people who need care. The staff who provide the care will bend over backwards," she said. "[Extra patients] certainly have an impact on their day and how rushed they are in the work that they do."

She said it points to a greater issue of pressure on the health-care services in the region.

"It seems apparent that there are not a sufficient number of residential long-term care beds in the area," she said. "There are a number of system issues that really need to be taken up pretty urgently."

With files from All Points West.