811 wait times jumped during P.E.I.'s Omicron wave

Wait times for P.E.I.'s Telehealth Service also known as 811 soared during the height of the Omicron wave,according to Emergency Medical Care (EMC) Inc., the private Nova Scotia-based company that has a contract with the Island's Department of Health and Wellness to provide the service.

Prior to the pandemic, the servicereceived just over 21,000 calls annually from theIsland, said Wendy Boutilier, manager of operations and clinical services with Telecare 811, which is operated by EMC.

In 2021, it receivedjust under 54,000 and in January of 2022 alonethere were 9,000 calls.

"During this most recent wave, we have seen a significant increase in our call volumes," Boutilier said."Especially in January, we saw a huge increase in our call volumes."

Since the beginning of February, call volumes have gone downand wait times have beenstabilizing, she said. But in January,Islanders were waiting on average30 to 60 minutes and sometimes longer to have their call answered.

"If all our registered nurses are on calls, then the call will be answered by telehealth associates or non-clinical staff who will gather the information of both the patient and why they're calling and put them into our queue," said Boutilier.

"And those calls will be answered in sequence."

Officials with EMC said in some cases, those wait times were three to four hours.

Staffing plans

While additional staff were added to the service at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, none were added to address the surge in calls due to Omicron, which began in December 2021, Boutilier said.And there are no plans to add any more staff at this time in the event of another large increase in call volumes.

"It's so unpredictable," said Boutilier.

"What we can do is have the staffing in place and do our very best to answer the calls in a timely fashion. So, yeah, we're not in a hurry to change our staffing levels at this time. We will definitely continue with what we're doing."

The service is contracted to provide Telehealth for both Nova Scotia and the Island, serving a combined population of more than1.1 million.

Officials with EMC said in addition to the 15 people hired at the onset of the pandemic to handle call volume, a total of 36 registered nurses work for the service, in addition to 10 additional Telehealthassociates.

No expansion plans

Health Minister Ernie Hudson said he's aware of the jump in calls caused by Omicron.

"As I understand pre-pandemic, that there was an average of about 1,000 calls per month," said Hudson."Once the pandemic hit that increased by two-and-a-half times, and certainly then when we get into mid-December and into the 1st of January (2022), the volume of calls going into 811 increased substantially."

He said it's unfortunate that individuals were left waiting for 811, and that his department routinely receives complaints about healthcare on the Island and the Telehealth service.

Still, there are no current plans to expand the service or to better prepare for future surges in call volumes,Hudson said, addinghis department will continue to have biweekly phone calls with EMC.

"I think that we have learned from the Omicron variant," the minister said.

"The factthat we do have that regular biweekly ...liaison discussion between the service provider and the department ...it enables us, andthe service provider, to be able to respond as rapidly as possible."