Shorten St. John's wait times: consultant

The province's largest health authority has released a study that suggests Newfoundland and Labrador should spend more money to make its hospitals more efficient.

Eastern Health commissioned a patient flow study for St. Clare's Mercy Hospital and the General Hospital, both in St. John's, because the authority recognizes that emergency department wait times are often too long. The General Hospital is part of the Health Sciences Centre, by far the largest health-care facility in the province.

The health authority paid consulting company Siemens Healthcare Canada $500,000 to determine how to get patients in and out of hospital more efficiently.  

The study concludes that government has to spend much more on home care, nursing homes, rehabilitation and other community supports.

"I think the study validates our need and will validate going forward to seek additional resources," said Norma Baker, Eastern Health's chief operating officer of acute adult care.

The provincial government is scheduled to announce its 2010 budget March 29. Eastern Health said it has delivered a list to government of urgent requests, such as ambulance transfers.

Baker said priorities include "patients being transported from one hospital to a long-term care facility. Where we are experiencing delays because we have to prioritize our emergency response."

The study also says Eastern Health's need for more space is critical, especially for outpatient clinics. It recommends that patients on ventilators should be moved out of critical care to their own unit.

The report also recommends that something as seemingly simple as hiring more cleaners would make more hospital beds available for new patients more quickly.