National strategy needed to reduce “code gridlock” in hospitals: Canadian Medical Association
Posted November 18, 2014 11:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – You or someone you know may have been unable to get proper care at a hospital because it was too full.
The head of the Canadian Medical Association who says it’s a problem that is made worse because of seniors getting stranded and has nowhere to go.
Chris Simpson with the Canadian Medical Association says more and more hospitals are going into “code gridlock,” which happens when patients aren’t able to move and get transferred because of overcapacity. It also results in cancelled surgeries, limiting care to just emergencies.
He says about 15 per cent of beds are occupied by patients that aren’t acutely ill, many of them seniors.
“They’re in hospital because there’s nowhere else for them to go. There’s no long term care facility or the next hospital they’re supposed to go to is full or there’s not enough home and community support for them to go home safely and so they stay in hospital sometimes for months and I’ve even heard of people staying for years.”
He says these seniors need to be in better environments.
“What’s not commonly appreciated is that hospitals are really toxic places for these really vulnerable patients. If they’re not acutely ill, we really need to get them out of hospital and if we don’t they are at risk for hospital acquired infections and falls.”
He’s calling for a national strategy involving all levels of government to make improvements for seniors, by making home based care and long term beds more available.
