'We are 70 patients over capacity': Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences experiences surge capacity crisis

The recent cold snap and increase of respiratory tract infectionsin northwestOntario has created a surge in capacity at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

"We have never experienced this amount of medical and surgical patients foras long as I can remember," said Executive Vice President and Acting President and CEO Dr. Steward Kennedy.

Dr. Kennedy said the hospital currently has a total of 447 patients, which is about "70 patients over capacity" in a 335 bed hospital.

"We do think that that number is going to increase overthe next week or two because of the current surge and upper respiratorytract infections and influenza especially in the elderly population," Dr. Kennedy said.

Which means patients who are non-urgent are having to waitlonger as resources in the hospital are tied up.

"We usually experience a surge after Christmas [and] thefirst two weeks of the New Year, so that's not unexpected and we plan for that surge," Dr. Kennedy said, but now those 22 extra beds, used during holidays, are also full and the hospital has had to open up another 10 extra beds.

Dr. Kennedy recommends patients who are suffering from seasonal colds or have non-urgent medical issues to visit other medical venues such as a community walk-in clinic or a nurse practitioner clinic to avoid long wait times.