In a year of ER closures, N.L. sees 5-year high in emergency department deaths
326 people died in N.L. emergency departments in 2022
A first responder in Newfoundland and Labrador says he's not surprised the province recorded a five-year high in the number of people who died in emergency departments in 2022.
Whitbourne fire Chief Jamie Budden says sick or injured people in his area must travel much farther since the local emergency room closed "temporarily" on June 27 and never opened back up.
The distance ties up ambulances longer, said Budden, and that can mean vehicle crash victims sometimes wait more than 30 minutes for an ambulance.
With the added waits and distances, he said, he often finds himself wondering whether the person he's helped load into the back of an ambulance will survive.
Numbers from the Health Department show 326 people died in the province's emergency departments in 2022, up from 262 in each of the previous two years.
The 2022 figure is a 24 per cent jump from the year before, and health officials said that number "may" include those who were pronounced dead in emergency rooms but died before they arrived.
Dr. Kris Luscombe, president of the province's medical association, says many people aren't getting regular screenings for health issues because they don't have a family doctor.
Luscombe, a psychiatrist, says the people showing up in emergency rooms for psychiatric care are the sickest he's seen in a decade.
Nova Scotia also saw a five-year high in emergency room deaths in 2022, with a 10 per cent jump to 558 from 505 people.
Data from Prince Edward Island health officials shows the province saw a five-year high in 2018, with 49 deaths.
New Brunswick's Vitalite Health Network supplied numbers showing a peak in 2021, with 267 deaths. The province's Horizon Heath Network did not supply any figures.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Health and Community Services said in a statement that it regularly reviews data across the province's health-care system but "does not speculate" about it.