Wait times in emergency departments still long: report

The information was released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

The data also revealed that of the one million patients admitted, one in 10 spent more than 28.4 hours in the ED first.

The CIHI also noted that when looking at all ED visits, however, nine out of 10 were completed in 7.5 hours or less.

A news release states that waits for inpatient beds varied by the severity of the situation: ED patients who needed an operating room or critical care bed had waits almost three times shorter than those who needed an inpatient bed in another unit (e.g., cardiology, respirology).

“We analyzed more than 10 million ED visits. That represents approximately 60 per cent of the ED visits in Canada, which underlines how busy this part of the health system is,” Greg Webster, director of Acute and Ambulatory Care Information Services at CIHI, said.

“Our findings highlight the persistently long ED visit times for admitted patients and how this affects seniors in particular. It is important to note that 90 per cent of all ED visits were completed in 7.5 hours or less.”

Of particular interest, one in four of the seniors who visited an ED was admitted to hospital. Of these patients, one in 10 spent more than 31 hours in the ED before being admitted, compared with more than 25.4 hours for one in 10 younger patients.

Chronic conditions — such as diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis — are more prevalent among people age 65 and older. These conditions can require hospitalization if not managed properly and complicate diagnosis and treatment of other illnesses and injuries. That is one reason why seniors are more likely to require admission to hospital and, because the appropriate inpatient beds are unavailable, have longer ED visits than their younger counterparts.

When looking at all patients, the leading conditions for which people were admitted to hospital from the ED were: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); heart failure; and pneumonia.

CIHI says the latest information is the most current and comprehensive it has published on EDs.