Halifax ER issues 3 overcrowding alerts in 6 days

The emergency department at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax has issued three alerts in less than a week to notify the rest of the hospital of overcrowding in the ER.

The alert, known as a Code Census, is called when there is a backlog of patients who have been admitted and assessed in the ER but cannot be moved to other departments because there are no beds.

"This is not something we do as a light reaction," said Dr. Sam Campbell, the chief of emergency medicine.

The latest string of backups began on Sept. 17, when 13 patients were admitted with no bed. The next day, 16 patients arrived to the same predicament. Another seven patients were admitted with no bed on Wednesday.

When the code is declared, the first patient in line is sent to the required unit to wait in a hallway until there is a bed available.

"We don't think it's ideal to send them up when there's nowhere to put them, but it's probably safer than leaving patients unassessed in the waiting room or an ambulance stretcher," said Campbell.

Campbell said the alert is meant to alleviate pressure on the emergency department and serve as a notice to other sections of the hospital that there are patients waiting for care.

He compared the situation to a "potato in the exhaust pipe."

"We have to be able to move patients out when they've had their emergency phase completed. And when this doesn't happen, essentially, the emergency department ceases to function," Campbell said.