HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-02-25, Page 10Page A10,- Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Hospital on short list of provincial wait times
Dominique Milburn
signal -star staff
Wait times for patients at Goderich's
emergency department are well below pro-
vincial targets, according to the facility's
internal record statistics.
Last week, Ontario became the first
province in Canada to set targets for time
spent in the ER, and will report local data
at www.ontariowaittimes.com.
Visitors to the Web site, however, will
' �<--;:.: .�:...<:..........: �. not yet find Alexan-
4
th!
on of the
Goderich Children's Festival,
we are looking for ideas and opinions.
What have we done well?
What needs to .be improved?
When: Thursday, February 26, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Tourism Centre Meeting Room
91 Hamilton Street
(Please enter by the Nelson Street door)
For more info email Lori Patterson -
goderichchildrensfestival@yahoo.com
or call Tourism Goderich
519-524-6600
GODERkH
Canada's prettiest town
i
Get a heac-start on SUCCESS with
this FREE seminar!
When:
Where:
#eton Small Business Enterprise Centre
Goderich & District Chamber of Commerce
Friday February 27 2009, 7:30-10 am
56 East Street, Goderich (Chamber office)
Reglster:Call Alison at (519) 527-0305
or, call Judy at (519)444-0176
Cost Nothing. Ws FREIE! Breakfast is included!
You: Need to call and register TODAY!
Did you know that 8 in 10 business $tart -ups fail from
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I-IUR N
Small Business Enterprise Centre
IMP
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dra Marine and Gen-
eral's statistics listed.
A Ministry of Health
and Long Term Care
spokesperson said
that at the moment,
AMGH doesn't have
the Emergency De-
partment Reporting
System in place that
allows hospitals to
share information
with the Web site.
"It is our inten-
tion to eventually
have all ER sites
hooked up on in-
formation system,"
the spokesperson said.
Hospital CEO Bill Thibert added that
AMGH is in line to connect with the sys-
tem, and said that the data that the hospital
uses to track its own statistics is different
than the data that will be collected through
the ER reporting system.
"AMGH's statistics show that the hospi-
tal is well within timelines established by
the Ministry. Internal stats show that we
are well below the provincial average and
below target."
Patients with more serious conditions
spend slightly over three hours at AMGH,
compared to the provincial average of 13.5
hours.
Ontario has set a target of reducing that
time to eight hours.
Meanwhile, patients with less serious
conditions spend approximately a little
over an hour in Goderich, compared to the
provincial average of 4.6 hours. The pro-,
vincial target is four hours.
"The wait time issue appears more sig-
nificant in larger urban areas, like Toronto,
where some hospitals average more than
30 hours," said Thibert. "We try to do the
best we can through our triage system to be
as efficient and effective as possible."
Though Goderich's wait times are below
the provincial average and targets, Thibert
said that there are times that patients do exr
perience waiting at the ER.
"We are staffed with one physician in the
ER," he explained. "We have one physician
on backup as well who can be called in if
needed when the ER is in a overwhelming
situation."
Thibert said that such situations could
include major auto accidents, or severe
• cardiac experiences. He added that AMGH
has experienced an increase in ER visits
throughout the past year.
"Not a huge increase, but patients are
treated on a basis of condition," he said.
"Not first-come first-served."
The province released the ER wait
times for Ontario hospitals Thursday.
Health Minister David Caplan has set a
target of having patients. spend no more
than eight hours in Ontario emergency
rooms. The data is based on 'total time
spent in the ER,' which is the maximum
time spent by nine out of ten patients in
the ER, and is measured from the time pa-
tients register until the time they leave.
Meanwhile, data for both Clinton and
Seaforth hospitals show in close com-
parison on the Web site to Goderich's
internal statistics.
•
The Bystander Effect
The Bystander Effect begins this Thursday with a Pay What You Can preview at The Livery Theatre and
officially opens this Friday night at 8pm. Above, Dean Whalen in character as Jim. Box office hours are
Tuesdays and:Thursdays 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Wednesdays 3 p.m. - 5:30 p,m. Call 519-524-6262.
Photo contributed
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www.goderichpIace.com