Regina hospitals nearly overflowing

Care at Regina's hospitals is being affected because of capacity problems, according to officials.

Officials with the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region said they have been trying to cope with an unprecedented surge in patients that is putting stress on all departments.

According to the region, the optimal capacity for Regina's two hospital is about 85 per cent of beds in use.

Anything approaching 100 per cent capacity is deemed worrisome.

In the past few days, however, the hospitals have been running at more than 100 per cent capacity.

Some patients were receiving care in corridor areas.

A doctor with the region said the situation is affecting the care people receive.

"Every patient, we are finding, is having significant delays in the care and treatment they need," Dr. Joy Dobson said Tuesday. "That's been our focus. Try to get rid of all the delays so we can move people through their care journey and home as quickly as possible."

Officials said they may try speeding up testing procedures or refer patients to a medical clinic for care, or find beds in personal care homes.

Dobson said the region plans to provide an update on its strategy by the end of week.

"Surges and problems in our over-capacity situations have been ongoing for a number of years," she noted. "[It was] worse for a number of months, but reached unprecedented levels earlier this month, which forced us to change our plan of attack."