Longer than normal wait times prompts reminder from local hospitals
Area hospitals are reminding residents to seek emergency department alternatives when possible as capacity pressures continue to cause longer than normal wait times.
A joint news release from Windsor Regional Hospital, Erie Shores Healthcare and Essex-Windsor EMS said they are continuing to see higher patient volumes with significant bed capacity concerns due to the influx of patients.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the wait at Windsor Regional Hospital was more than five hours long for both campuses, while Erie Shores Healthcare had a three and a half hour wait.
“Although emergency cases are always attended to rapidly and receive immediate medical treatment, patients should expect that wait times and treatment for any ailments other than emergencies will be much longer than usual, as they have been for the past several weeks. Ambulance response times for non-emergency situations may also be longer than usual,” the release said.
Officials are asking residents to seek care for non-emergency needs, where possible, at community settings such as their family doctor or local medical clinic to help alleviate strain.
For information regarding potential non-emergency options, visit the Windsor Regional Hospital and Erie Shore Healthcare websites.
If you are unsure whether you require emergency or urgent care, the hospital officials recommend visiting the Essex-Windsor EMS “Make The Right Call” webpage for information.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.