Doctors are sounding the alarm about a crisis of overflowing emergency rooms.
The Canadian Medical Association said in a statement Thursday that overcrowding of hospitals is so bad that patients aren’t being seen in a timely manner.
“Many emergency rooms across the country are overflowing and patients across Canada are waiting far too long to receive necessary care,” said Canadian Medical Association president Kathleen Ross. “The scene is not new but unless we make major systemic changes, it will continue to repeat itself. Despite the tireless efforts of physicians, nurses and other health providers, testimonies from around the country illustrate that patients in some jurisdictions are waiting as long as 20 hours or longer to receive care.”
Overflowing emergency rooms are not a new problem. The Quebec government issued a public notice last week advising residents to avoid ERs at all costs unless absolutely necessary, as several of its hospitals had reached over 200% of capacity.
“Staff shortages and hospital overcrowding combined with poor access to high-quality team-based primary care are leaving hospital emergency departments woefully under-resourced for the avalanche of patients with influenza, COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at this time of year,” said Ross.
The Canadian Medical Association is calling for team-based primary care as a potential solution to the issue and have asked for parliamentarians to address the possibility.
Team-based primary care would allow healthcare professionals to work in tandem as an interdisciplinary team, so that they could focus on their specialties and be able to refer patients to one another based on each patient’s medical needs.
“The Canadian Medical Association believes it is well past time to transform and rebuild the health care system, including investing upstream in team-based primary care,” read the statement from the organization.
Patients who receive team-based primary care have lower rates of ER visits than those who receive non-team-based care, according to a 2022 study from the University of Manitoba.
Team-based care currently exists in parts of Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec but has yet to be implemented on a grand scale.
The Canadian Medical Association called for team-based care last summer, recommending that governments establish care teams to serve 50% of Canadians within the next five years, and 80% within ten years.
”No one wants to spend 20 hours waiting for the care they or their loved ones need. Solutions to ease the pain points for patients and providers are crucial. For instance, ERs shouldn’t be substitutes for walk-in clinics or primary care. We are facing a primary care crisis in this country, and we urgently need to find solutions,” reads the statement.
“The Canadian Medical Association believes it is well past time to transform and rebuild the health care system, including investing upstream in team-based primary care.”
